aia        University 

Souther 

Libra] 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
AT  LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

W.P.   Harrison 


Border  Fights  £^  Fighters 


<•• 
1  They  came  on  with  fixed  bayonets  without  firing.' 


Border  Fights  <£^  Fighters 


STORIES  OF  THE  PIONEERS  BETWEEN 
THE  ALLEGHENIES  AND  THE  MISSIS- 
SIPPI AND  IN  THE  TEXAN  REPUBLIC 


BY 
CYRUS   TOWNSEND    BRADY,   LL.D. 

Author  of 

American  Fights  &  Fighters,  Colonial 
Fights  &  Fighters,  &c. 


With  Maps,   Plans,   &  many  Illustrations  by 

Louis  Betts,  Howard  Giles,  J.  N.  Mar- 

chand,  Roy  L.  Williams,  Harry 

Fenn  &  A.  de  F.  Pitney 


NEW     YORK 

MCCLURE,    PHILLIPS    &f    C9 

MCMII 


Copyright,  1901,  by  S.  S.  McCLURE  Co. 

Copyright,    1902,   by 
McCLURE,    PHILLIPS   &   CO. 


Published,   October,   1902,   N 


••   ;  :  ••'  :  :  •'••':.     •   .-.   •  •     •••  i-ii.  j"«  •*'•! 

/  •    .-  -        -      J  '       :    .*  *         •       ,5 ,     -        -    t  -I  ,-  •  J  •    • 

'  ...."..•         t   ,   .          -  - 

-    -»       ' 


£173 


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I? 

jr 

cr 

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<£ 

I  dedicate  this  book 
in  the  bonds  of  an  old  affection  to  that 

venerated  and  admired 
SCHOLAR   &  GENTLEMAN 

CO 


.,  etc* 


Superintendent   of  Public   Education,   Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania,  whose  VARIED  LEARNING,  PHILO- 
SOPHIC    CULTURE,    WIDE     EXPERIENCE,    and 
£"  mOSt     of     all,      UNFAILING      CHRISTIAN 

COURTESY    and    KINDLINESS    OF 

HEART,    have    so    endeared 

him  to  all   those  who, 

like    myself,    are 

privileged   to 

call  him 

£  friend 

¥ 
o  ^ 

t 

5 


281279 


Prefatory  Note 


FROM  De  Soto,  who  opens  the  first  book  of  this 
Fights  and  Fighters  Series,  to  Houston,  who  closes 
the  third,  is  just  three  centuries. 
The  salient  incidents  of  these  three  hundred  years, 
from  the  Conquistador  to  the  Pioneer,  have  engaged  the 
greater  part  of  my  attention  for  a  long  time,  and  with 
the  completion  of  this  book  they  are  set  before  the  reader. 
To  me  this  last  book  of  the  series  has  been  the  most 
interesting.     It  is  more  thoroughly  American  and  the 
men  come  more  closely  home  to  us  therefore.     Two  of 
them  come  especially  close  to  me,  since  Captain  John 
Brady    was    my    great-great-grandfather,    and    Captain 
Samuel   Brady   my   great-granduncle.      It   has   been   a 
pleasure  and  pride  to  me  to  find  them  worthy  of  inclu- 
sion in  this  category  of  heroes. 

As  I  look  back  upon  the  history  of  America  through 
my  studies  therein,  I  seem  to  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
great  purpose  and  plan  back  of  it  all.  The  story  of  our 
land  has  been  the  story  of  a  struggle  for  the  possession 
of  a  continent,  a  story  of  the  rise  to  domination  of  that 
branch  of  the  Germanic  Race  known  as  the  Anglo-Saxon. 
Whatever  be  the  continental  affiliation  of  the  early  or 
late  settler,  whether  Irish,  Dutch,  Scots,  German,  or 
Latin,  he  has  been  modified,  changed,  absorbed  by  the 
dominant  racial  solvent,  primarily  into  a  Germane- Anglo- 
Saxon,  latterly  into  an  American — the  new  racial  type. 
Our  social  habits  and  political  practices,  like  our  Ian- 


viii  Prefatory  Note 

guage,  law,  and  religion,  are  English,  with  just  enough 
modification  to  differentiate  us  and  give  us  an  originality 
of  our  own. 

The  struggle  by  which  this  has  been  brought  about 
is  the  true  meaning  of  our  history,  and  that  is  the  story 
told  in  these  books.  Alien  races  were  compelled  either 
to  affiliate  or  go  out ;  absorption  or  destruction  were  the 
unconscious  alternatives,  and  if  they  could  not  be  ab- 
sorbed they  had  to  disappear  in  one  way  or  another. 
The  French,  the  Spanish,  the  Indians,  have  gone,  and 
so  jealous  of  control  have  we  been  that  even  the  ties 
that  bound  us  to  older  civilizations  of  Europe  had  to  be 
ruthlessly  broken. 

To  anticipate  a  little,  the  dominant  idea  of  America 
for  the  free  Americans  persisted  through  a  Civil  War  of 
appalling  magnitude,  and  until  we  had  driven  the  Spanish 
flag  from  Cuba  and  the  Antilles;  and  if  I  dare  venture 
a  prophecy,  though  I  personally  am  called  an  Anti- 
Imperialist,  this  supreme  idea  of  American  Continental 
Domination  will  not  reach  its  limit  until  there  is  but  one 
flag  from  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  to  the  Arctic  Circle, 
and  that  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 

One  of  the  greatest  questions  that  troubles  the  Ameri- 
can mind  is  the  ultimate  solution  of  what  is  known  as 
the  race  problem.  How  far  modern  ethics  may  modify 
ancient  habit  cannot  be  said,  yet  the  experience  of  the 
past  presented  but  two  possibilities  to  the  alien,  assimila- 
tion or  disappearance  —  and  we  cannot  assimilate  the 
negro! 

As  to  the  particular  volume  in  which  this  note  appears 
let  me  say  that  to  these  unfamiliar  subjects  I  have  given 
more  thought,  study,  and  investigation,  than  to  both  the 
preceding  books.  Again,  I  admit  the  free  use  of  all 


Prefatory  Note  ix 

authentic  printed  authorities, — among  them  only  citing 
by  name  Roosevelt's  great  Epic,  "  The  Winning  of  the 
West," — much  old  manuscript  unprinted  and  some  per- 
sonal recollections  of  ancient  men,  together  with  family 
traditions.  Many  of  the  incidents  depicted,  while  more 
or  less  familiar,  are  not  easy  to  come  at  in  detail,  even  in 
the  larger  histories  accessible  to  the  people. 

The  period  treated  of  was  a  most  important  one  in 
our  history,  and  its  masters  must  be  judged  according  to 
their  tasks.  The  President  in  a  recent  speech  well  said : 

"  To  conquer  a  continent  is  rough  work.  All  really 
great  work  is  rough  in  the  doing,  though  it  may  seem 
smooth  enough  to  those  who  look  back  upon  it  or  gaze 
upon  it  from  afar.  The  roughness  is  an  unavoidable  part 
of  the  doing  of  the  deed.  We  need  display  but  scant 
patience  with  those,  who,  sitting  at  ease  in  their  own 
homes,  delight  to  exercise  a  querulous  and  censorious 
spirit  of  judgment  upon  their  brethren  who,  whatever 
their  shortcomings,  are  doing  strong  men's  work  as  they 
bring  the  light  of  civilization  into  the  world's  darkest 
places." 

And  Stuart  Edward  White,  a  welcome  young  apostle 
of  the  west,  in  a  recent  clever  novel  writes: 

"  When  history  has  granted  him  the  justice  of  per- 
spective, we  will  know  the  American  Pioneer  as  one  of 
the  most  picturesque  of  her  many  figures.  Resourceful, 
self-reliant,  bold;  adapting  himself  with  fluidity  to  di- 
verse circumstances  and  conditions;  meeting  with  equal 
cheerfulness  of  confidence  and  completeness  of  capabil- 
ity both  unknown  dangers  and  the  perils  by  which  he 
has  been  educated;  seizing  the  useful  in  the  lives  of  the 
beasts  and  men  nearest  him,  and  assimilating  it  with 
marvellous  rapidity;  he  presents  to  the  world  a  picture 


x  Prefatory   Note 

of  complete  adequacy  which  it  would  be  difficult   to 
match  in  any  other  walk  of  life." 

In  this  book  I  have  striven  to  do  the  Pioneer  justice, 
as  I  have  striven  to  lay  aside  prejudice  all  through  the 
series  and  to  write  fairly  even  of  the  enemy,  be  he  Briton, 
or  Indian,  or  Mexican,  or  whatever  he  may.  And  in  ad- 
dition to  a  mere  recital  of  heroic  incidents  I  have  endeav- 
ored to  depict  the  characters  of  men  like  Boone,  Hous- 
ton, Crockett,  Brady,  Sevier,  Tecumseh,  Bouquet,  Santa 
Anna,  and  the  rest. 

More  pressing  literary  engagements  will  probably  pre- 
vent the  issuance  of  the  fourth  volume  of  the  series  in 
1903,  as  I  had  wished,  but  the  next  book  is  already 
planned  under  the  title  of  Beyond  the  Mississippi  FigJrts 
and  Fighters,  and  I  hope  to  have  it  ready  in  1904. 

C.  T.  B. 

The  Normandie, 

PHILADELPHIA,  PENNA., 

June,  1902. 


CONTENTS 


PART  I 
PENNSYLVANIA 

PAGE 

HOW   HENRY  BOUQUET   SAVED   PENNSYLVANIA      .        .       i 

I.     A  VETERAN  SOLDIER  AND  His  PROBLEM  .        .  -3 

II.     THE  MARCH  OVER  THE  MOUNTAINS         ....      8 

III.  THE  BATTLE  OF  BUSHY  RUN    .        .....     13 

IV.  THE  END  OF  BOUQUET      .......     19 

CAPTAIN   SAMUEL   BRADY,    CHIEF   OF   THE   RANGERS    .     21 
I.     A  FAMILY  OF  FIGHTERS    .......     23 

II.     THE  FIRST  OF  THE  BORDERERS         .....     27 

III.  THE  ADVENTURE  AT  BLOODY  SPRING       .        .        .        .28 

IV.  BRADY'S  FAMOUS  LEAP      .....        .        -33 

V.    AN  EXPEDITION  WITH  WETZEL  AND  OTHER  ADVENTURES    36 


PART  II 
VIRGINIA,   TENNESSEE,   THE   CAROLINAS 

ON  THE  EVE  OF  THE   REVOLUTION    .         ...  .41 

I.     ANDREW  LEWIS  AND  His  BORDERERS       .        ...  -43 

II.     THE  BATTLE  OF  POINT  PLEASANT     .        .        ,        .  .48 

III.     THE  FATE  OF  THE  PARTICIPANTS  IN  THE  CAMPAIGN  .     56 


xii  Contents 

PAGB 

THE  PIONEERS  OF  EAST  TENNESSEE         .  .        .     61 

I.    JOHN  SEVIER  AND  THE  WATAUGA  MEN    .        .        .        .63 

II.     "THE  REAR  GUARD  OF  THE  REVOLUTION"     .        .        .67 

III.  THE  STATE  OF  FRANKLIN  AND  ITS  GOVERNOR         .        .    68 

IV.  THE  ASSEMBLING  OF  THE  MOUNTAINEERS        .        .        .     72 
V.    THE  DASH  TO  CATCH  FERGUSON 79 

VI.     KING'S  MOUNTAIN;   LAUNCHING  THE  THUNDERBOLT       .     83 
VII.     AFTER  THE  BATTLE 91 

UNPUBLISHED  ACCOUNT  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  KING'S 
MOUNTAIN,  BY  THE  REV.  STEPHEN  FOSTER,  A  PAR- 
TICIPANT .  ". 95 


PART  III 
KENTUCKY 

DANIEL   BOONE,   GREATEST   OF   PIONEERS         .         .         .Ill 

I.     THE  LAND  BEYOND  THE  MOUNTAINS        .        .        .        .113 

II.     THE  GREATEST  OF  THE  PIONEERS 116 

III.  THE  EXPLORATION  OF  KENTUCKY 118 

IV.  THE  SETTLEMENT  OF  KENTUCKY 122 

V.    ADVENTURES  WITH  INDIANS      .        .  127 

VI.     THE  DEFENCE  OF  BOONESBOROUGH 134 

VII.    THE  LAST  BATTLE  OF  THE  REVOLUTION  .        .        .        .138 
VIII.    THE  END  OF  THE  OLD  PIONEER 146 

THE  WOMEN   AND   CHILDREN  OF   BRYAN'S  STATION    .   149 

I.    THE  WIVES  OF  THE  PIONEERS 151 

II.     AN  OLDTIME  FRONTIER  FORT 153 

III.  RUSE  AGAINST  RUSE  ........   155 

IV.  THE  STORY  OF  THE  MORGANS 163 


Contents  xiii 


PART  IV 
THE   FAR  SOUTH 

PAGE 

THE   MASSACRE   AT   FORT   MIMS 165 

I.     THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  CREEK  WAR      ....  167 

II.     CARELESS  DEFENDERS        .        .        .,...'-.        .        .171 

III.     PAYING  THE  AWFUL  PENALTY 173 

JACKSON'S  VICTORY  AT   TOHOPEKA     ...        .         .179 

I.     THE  LAST  STAND  OF  THE  CREEKS 181 

II.     THE  HEROISM  OF  YOUNG  SAM  HOUSTON         .        .        .186 

WHEN  THE   SEMINOLES   FOUGHT   FOR   FREEDOM  .         .   191 

I.  THE  INJUSTICE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  .        ,        .        .   193 

II.  THE  MASSACRE  OF  DADE  AND  His  MEN  ....   197 

III.  AFTER  THE  BATTLE   .                                                    .        .    202 


PART  V 
THE   NORTHWEST   TERRITORY 

GEORGE    ROGERS    CLARK    AND    THE    GREAT    NORTH- 
WEST .         .         .       -.         .     .-,        .         .         .  .209 
I.     THE  ORIGIN  OF  A  GREAT  IDEA        .        .        .        .  .  211 
II.     THE  FIRST  SUCCESS  .        .        .        .        »       .        .  .  218 

III.  "THE  HAIR-BUYER  GENERAL"         .        .        .        .  .  224 

IV.  THE  TERRIBLE  MARCH      .        .        .       ..        .-      .  .  229 

V.     THE  CAPTURE  OF  VINCENNES   .        .                .        .  .  234 

VI.     FORGOTTEN!       .        .".-..        .        ...  .  238 

TECUMSEH   AND   WILLIAM   HENRY   HARRISON        ,.  .  2%t 

I.     THE  GREATEST  OF  THE  INDIANS 243 

II.     THE  PROTAGONIST  OF  THE  LEAGUE  .        .        .:       .  .  248 

III.  THE  BATTLE  OF  TIPPECANOE     .        •        »        •        •  •  257 

IV.  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  THAMES  .        .        .        .        .  .  264 


xiv  Contents 

PAGE 

THE   MASSACRE   ON   THE   RIVER   RAISIN     .         .         .         .269 

I.     THE  ARMY  OF  THE  WEST 271 

II.     A  HAZARDOUS  EXPEDITION        ......  274 

III.  THE  BATTLE  OF  FRENCHTOWN  .        .        .        .        .        .  280 

IV.  THE  MURDER  OF  THE  WOUNDED 286 

GEORGE     CROGHAN     AND     THE     DEFENCE     OF     FORT 

STEPHENSON 289 

I.     A  BOY  IN  COMMAND  OF  OTHER  BOYS      ....  291 

II.    THE  IMPUDENCE  OF  THE  YOUNG  CAPTAIN        .        .        .  296 

III.     DESPERATE  FIGHTING        .  300 


PART  VI 
TEXAS 

DAVID    CROCKETT    AND    THE    MOST    DESPERATE    DE- 
FENCE  IN   AMERICAN    HISTORY         .         .         .305 

I.     A  TYPICAL  AMERICAN 307 

II.     THE  LONE  STAR  REPUBLIC 312 

III.  THE  MISSION  DEL  ALAMO 314 

IV.  THE  HUNDRED  AND  EIGHTY  AGAINST  THE  FIVE  THOU- 

SAND  316 

THE   WORST   OF   SANTA   ANNA'S   MISDEEDS        .         .         .327 

I.    THE  DELAY  AT  FORT  DEFIANCE 329 

II.     THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  COLETA 334 

III.     THE  MASSACRE  AT  GOLIAD 338 

SAM   HOUSTON  AND   FREEDOM -345 

I.  SOME  CHARACTERISTICS  OF  THE  MAN       ....  347 

II.  IN  THE  SERVICE  OF  THE  TEXAN  REPUBLIC      .        .        .  353 

III.     "THE  RUNAWAY  SCRAPE" 354 

IV.     SANTA  ANNA  is  TRAPPED 357 

V.     THE  BATTLE  OF  SAN  JACINTO 363 

INDEX ...  369 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 


FACING 
PAGE 

THEY     CAME     ON     WITH     FIXED     BAYONETS    WITHOUT 
FIRING " Frontispiece 

THAT  WAR  PARTY  WAS  ANNIHILATED"      .        .        .        .32 

CORNSTALK  RECEIVED  THEM  STANDING  WITH  WIDE  OPEN 
ARMS" ,       ...     58 

FERGUSON     SHOWED     HIMSELF     A     VERY     PALADIN    OF 
COURAGE" .        .        .88 

THE  KENTUCKIANS  STOOD  TO  THEIR  GROUND  MANFULLY 
AND  RETURNED  THE  FIRE" 142 

IT  WAS  INDEED  A  FEARFUL  MOMENT  FOR  THE  WOMEN"  .   158 
THE  MAJOR  BENT  HIS  BACK  AND  PUSHED  LIKE  MAD"     .   174 

THEY  PLUNGED  DAUNTLESSLY  INTO  THE  FORD,  ONLY  TO 
BE   MET  BY   THE   FIRE  FROM  COFFEE'S  RIFLEMEN   ON 

THE    FARTHER   SIDE" l88 

•  I     CAN    GIVE    YOU     NO    MORE    ORDERS,    LADS.        DO    YOUR 

BEST  !  " 2O2 

CLARK,   WITH    TRAGIC    INTENSITY,    BADE   THEM    GO    ON 
WITH  THE  DANCE" .        .  220 

1  MESSENGERS  BROUGHT  LETTERS    .    .    .     APPEALING  FOR 
VENGEANCE  OR  PROTECTION  "  .        .        .        .        .        .  2$O 

'  ,  XV 


xvi  List  of  Illustrations 


FACING 
PAGE 


"PROCTOR    .    .    .    HAD  A  FIERY   INTERVIEW  WITH  THE 
AMERICAN  COMMANDER" 284 

"THE  YOUNG  SUBALTERN  DID  NOT  SCARE  A  LITTLE  BIT".  300 

THE  MISSION  DEL  ALAMO 314 

"  So  HE  MAKES  A  FINE  END  !  " 324 

"SHE    TOOK    THE    FAMILY    FAR    OVER    THE    ALLEGHENY 
MOUNTAINS" 348 


1 

LIST   OF   MAPS   AND   PLANS 


PAGE 

I.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  BUSHY  RUN       .        .        .15 
II.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  KING'S  MOUNTAIN    .        .    86 

III.  PLAN  AND  PERSPECTIVE  VIEW  OF  BOONESBOROUGH  .  126 

IV.  PLAN  OF  FORT  MIMS  170 

V.  MAP  OF  THE  HORSE-SHOE  BEND  AND  PLAN  OF  THE 

BATTLE 182 

VI.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  TIPPECANOE      .        .        .  256 

VII.  MAP  OF  FRENCHTOWN  AND  THE  MASSACRE  ON  THE 

RAISIN .-  278 

VIII.  MAP  OF  FORT  STEPHENSON          .        .       .        .        .  294 
IX.  PLAN  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF  SAN  JACINTO     .        .        .361 


PART  I 
PENNSYLVANIA 

I 

How  Henry  Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania 


"  At  once  there  rose  so  wild  a  yell 
Within  that  dark  and  narrow  dell, 
As  all  the  fiends,  from  heaven  that  fell 
Had  peal' d  the  banner-cry  of  hell  /" 

I.     A  Veteran  Soldier  and  His  Problem 

IN  the  far  western  part  of  the  province  of  Pennsyl- 
vania on  the  night  of  the  5th  of  August,   1763,  a 
little  party  of  English  soldiers  found  themselves  con- 
fronted by  as  desperate  a  situation  as  ever  menaced  a 
military  expedition.     They  were  encamped  upon  a  low 
barren  hill  with  a  few  stunted  trees  upon  it,  which  was 
surrounded  on  all  sides  by  a  thick  dense  forest.     Not  a 
fire  was  burning  on  the  hill,  not  a  light  of  any  kind 
could  be  shown.     The  sky  was  overcast  and  no  star 
sparkled  like  a  beacon  of  heaven  above  them. 

The  troops,  numbering  four  hundred  and  fifty,  were 
posted  on  the  slopes  of  the  hill  in  a  large  circle.  Within 
this  circle  some  three  hundred  pack-horses  were  tethered. 
On  the  very  crest  of  the  elevation,  in  the  centre  of  the 
cordon  of  soldiery,  a  temporary  breastwork  had  been 
made  by  piling  in  a  circle  bags  of  flour  and  meal  which 
had  been  the  burden  of  the  pack-horses.  Within  the 
meagre  shelter  afforded  by  the  enclosure  so  formed, 
some  thirty-five  desperately  wounded  officers  and  men 

3 


4          Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

were  lying.  What  slight  attention  the  suffering  soldiers 
received  was  given  them  in  the  darkness.  There  was 
not  a  drop  of  water  on  the  hill. 

At  irregular  intervals  a  flash  of  light  would  lance  the 
darkness  of  the  mass  of  trees  enclosing  them  like  a  wall, 
and  the  report  of  a  musket,  followed  by  a  terrifying  war- 
cry,  would  break  the  stillness  of  the  night,  apprizing  the 
anxious  soldiers  that  their  watchful  enemies  were  still 
there.  The  pickets  crouching  down  on  the  slopes  and 
peering  into  the  blackness  about  them,  kept  fearful  watch 
while  the  rest  of  the  exhausted  soldiers  lay  upon  their 
arms  full  of  dismal  forebodings  for  the  morrow,  vainly 
endeavoring  to  stifle  the  pangs  of  thirst  or  to  get  a  little 
sleep.  Across  a  little  ravine  in  front  of  the  position 
they  held,  upon  the  slopes  of  a  similar  hill,  the  bodies 
of  some  twenty-five  of  their  fellow-soldiers  lay  still  and 
ghastly  under  the  trees.  The  well-aimed  bullet,  the 
brutal  tomahawk,  and  the  terrible  scalping-knife  had 
done  their  fell  work.  There  were  no  wounded  there. 

The  soldiers  on  the  hill  were  alone  in  the  wilderness. 
Back  at  Fort  Ligonier,  some  fifty  miles  away,  there  was 
a  little  garrison,  the  major  part  composed  of  sixty  in- 
valids too  weak  to  accompany  their  comrades  on  the 
expedition.  About  twenty  miles  before  them  another 
small  body  of  English  soldiers,  hopefully  awaiting  for  the 
arrival  of  the  very  party  in  such  sore  straits,  were  tena- 
ciously defending  Fort  Pitt,  situated  at  the  confluence 
of  the  Monongahela  and  Allegheny  rivers.  On  all  sides 
of  them  extended  the  unbroken  wilderness,  virgin  woods, 
forests  primeval,  covering  mountain  range  and  valley. 
The  soldiers  on  the  hill,  therefore,  could  hope  for  no 
assistance  and  must  depend  upon  their  own  endeavors 
to  extricate  themselves  from  their  desperate  position. 


How   Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania    5 

The  locality  in  which  they  found  themselves  was  preg- 
nant with  menacing  history.  A  few  miles  away,  a  few 
years  before,  twice  their  number  of  English  troops  had 
been  utterly  defeated  with  dreadful  loss,  and  some  of 
the  same  Indians  who  had  overwhelmed  Braddock  with 
such  terrible  success,  lay  encamped  about  these  men 
that  night.  Still  nearer  in  time  as  the  place  was  closer 
in  distance,  these  same  red  men  could  recall  the  disas- 
trous beating  they  had  given  Major  Grant  and  his  High- 
landers. They  had  never  been  conquered  by  the  white 
men — they  did  not  mean  to  be  then. 

Every  military  post  on  the  western  Pennsylvania  bor- 
der, except  those  two  mentioned,  had  been  captured 
by  these  selfsame  savages  during  the  spring;  their  gar- 
risons had  been  first  tortured  and  then  murdered  and 
the  forts  themselves  burned  and  destroyed.  All  over 
the  northwest  the  Indians  had  risen,  animated  by  the 
genius  and  inspired  by  the  enthusiasm  of  Pontiac,  and 
they  had  fed  fat  their  ancient  grudge  against  the  hap- 
less English.  Not  yet  glutted  by  their  successes  and  the 
ensuing  slaughter,  they  were  slowly  making  their  way 
eastward  into  the  populous  and  well-settled  portions  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Such  a  scene  of  rapine  and  murder  as  had  followed 
the  destruction  of  the  military  posts  has  never  been 
equalled.  The  frontier  was  left  entirely  unprotected. 
In  every  clearing,  where,  a  few  months  before,  had  dwelt 
the  settler  in  comparative  peace  and  security,  tilling  the 
soil,  planting  his  crops  and  wresting  from  the  wilder- 
ness his  hard-earned  livelihood;  and  with  his  wife  and 
children  devoting  himself  to  the  conquest  of  the  country 
to  the  arts  of  peace  and  to  the  spirit  of  civilization,  now 
stood  the  tottering  remnants  of  a  chimney  amid  the 


6          Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

ashes  of  a  home.  Unburied  bodies  by  hundreds,  the 
prey  of  the  wild  beasts  of  the  forest,  the  wolves  and  the 
vultures,  aye,  of  the  very  swine  that  ranged  the  wilder- 
ness, gave  mute  attestation  to  the  thoroughness  with 
which  the  border  had  been  swept  by  the  desolating 
Indian. 

The  struggling  little  towns  clustering  about  the  walls 
of  some  feeble  fort,  such  as  Shippensburg,  Carlisle,  and 
Bedford,  were  crowded  with  terrified  fugitives.  With 
their  limited  accommodations  they  were  able  to  afiford 
a  shelter  to  but  few  of  those  who  sought  their  protec- 
tion. Their  already  depleted  stocks  of  provisions  were 
soon  exhausted,  and  famine  and  privation  added  their 
pangs  to  the  troubles  of  the  people.  And  there  were 
many  wounded  and  ill,  some  who  had  been  tortured, 
shot,  even  scalped,  who  yet  lived,  for  whom  nothing 
could  be  done,  who  must  needs  suffer  without  any  alle- 
viation of  their  anguish. 

Distracted  wives  who  had  been  bereft  of  their  hus- 
bands gathered  their  children  about  them  and  lay  house- 
less in  the  fields.  Starving  children  who  had  lost  their 
parents  wandered  from  group  to  group,  their  pitiful 
wailings  almost  unnoticed  in  the  general  misery.  Here 
a  mother  mourned  a  son,  there  a  friend  longed  for  a 
friend.  And  there  were  many  haggard  desperate  men, 
too,  who  had  seen  their  dear  ones  taken  from  them  and 
submitted  to  a  fate  too  horrible  to  mention.  These  kept 
watch  and  ward  over  the  huddled  fugitives;  and,  as  they 
grasped  their  rifles  with  nervous  hands,  with  breaking 
hearts  they  swore  eternal  vengeance  against  the  red 
man. 

And  the  colony  of  Pennsylvania  did  nothing  to  pro- 
tect its  children! 


How  Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania   7 

Fortunately,  however,  there  happened  to  be  at  the 
time  an  officer  named  Henry  Bouquet  in  command  of 
the  king's  forces  at  Philadelphia.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  accomplished  soldiers  and  gentlemen  of  his  time; 
an  officer,  the  variety  of  whose  talents  was  only  equalled 
by  his  bravery  and  sagacity.  He  had  for  some  seven 
years  held  a  command  in  America.  During  this  time  he 
had  so  mastered  the  tactics  of  the  savage  foeman,  against 
whom  he  most  often  warred,  that  in  address  and  cun- 
ning he  proved  himself  able  to  give  even  the  wiliest 
Indian  chief  a  bitter  lesson.  Though  the  service  he 
rendered  America  was  of  the  utmost  importance,  though 
he  manifested  in  the  performance  of  it  the  steadiest 
courage,  and  exhibited  the  highest  skill;  though  he 
fought,  all  things  considered,  the  most  brilliant  and 
effective  battle  which  was  probably  ever  waged  against 
the  Indians — certainly  the  most  notable  engagement  in 
which  a  British  officer  commanded — he  is  a  forgotten 
hero  and  his  services  are  now  but  little  remembered. 

This  great  and  gallant  soldier  was  born  in  1719,  at 
Rolle  in  Switzerland,  on  the  north  shore  of  the  beautiful 
lake  of  Geneva.  Springing  from  an  humble  family  and 
possessed  of  little  fortune,  he  made  his  way  upward  by 
sheer  force  of  natural  ability  and  talent.  As  did  many 
Swiss,  he  chose  to  follow  a  military  career,  and  entered 
the  Dutch  service  as  a  cadet  when  only  seventeen  years 
of  age.  Shifting  his  allegiance,  as  was  the  habit  of  sol- 
diers of  fortune,  he  later  became  adjutant  to  the  King 
of  Sardinia,  in  whose  employ  he  saw  much  hard  service, 
in  which  he  greatly  distinguished  himself.  The  Prince 
of  Orange  made  him  lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Swiss 
Guards  of  Holland  in  1748. 

After  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  he  spent  his  time 


8          Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

in  mastering  not  merely  military  art  but  the  polite  learn- 
ing of  his  day  as  well.  In  1756  he  was  appointed 
lieutenant-colonel  commanding  one  of  the  four  battalions 
of  the  regiment  called  the  "  Royal  Americans  "  which 
King  George  III  had  directed  should  be  raised  in  Amer- 
ica for  service  in  the  French  and  Indian  War.  This  was 
a  regiment  composed  mainly  of  Pennsylvania  Germans, 
and  it  was  necessary,  as  the  majority  of  the  men  spoke 
little  or  no  English,  that  officers  who  should  be  conver- 
sant with  their  language  should  be  appointed  to  command 
them.  A  special  act  of  Parliament  had  been  required 
in  order  that  Bouquet  and  other  foreigners  could  be 
commissioned  by  the  English  king,  a  most  fortunate  act 
indeed.  The  regiment  performed  superb  service  on 
many  hard-fought  battle-fields  in  the  French  War;  and 
various  detachments,  since  the  Peace  of  Paris  had  ended 
that  conflict,  had  made  up  most  of  the  garrisons  of  the 
different  posts  in  the  west  and  northwest  which  had  just 
been  ovenvhelmed  by  the  savage  onslaught. 

II.     The  March  Over  the  Mountains 

Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst,  who  commanded  all  the  English 
forces  in  America,  when  he  received  news  of  the  Indian 
outbreak,  immediately  directed  Colonel  Bouquet  to  ad- 
vance to  relieve  Fort  Pitt,  and  to  afford  some  protection 
to  the  distressed  inhabitants  of  western  Pennsylvania 
with  whatever  forces  he  could  assemble  without  delay. 
Bouquet  could  only  gather  up  about  six  hundred  men 
and  this  he  did  by  ordering  the  remnants  of  two  regiments, 
the  Forty  Second  Highlanders  and  the  Seventy  Seventh 
infantry,  which  had  just  been  invalided  home  from  the 
West  Indies,  to  the  front.  The  men  were  so  broken  by 


How  Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania   9 

their  arduous  and  wearing  service  in  the  tropics  that 
they  were  really  fit  for  nothing  but  garrison  duty.  Some 
of  them  had  to  be  carried  along  on  the  march  in  wagons 
on  account  of  their  weakness.  There  were  no  other 
troops  available,  however,  and  they  had  to  go.  They 
cheerfully  undertook  the  campaign  for  the  relief  of  the 
suffering  people. 

On  the  3rd  of  July,  1763,  the  expedition  arrived  at 
Carlisle,  to  which  point  orders  had  been  sent  that  sup- 
plies and  transportation  should  be  in  readiness.  Noth- 
ing had  been  done,,  owing  to  the  panic  of  the  inhabitants. 
In  fact,  so  far  from  finding  any  supplies,  Bouquet,  who 
was  a  man  of  extreme  sensibility,  felt  obliged  to  share 
the  meagre  provisions  of  his  little  army  with  the  starv- 
ing women  and  children.  The  situation  was  apparently 
hopeless,  but  such  was  the  energy,  ability,  and  tact  of  the 
commander  that  eighteen  days  after  his  arrival  the  ex- 
pedition left  Carlisle  with  a  large  number  of  wagons  fully 
provided.  Fort  Ligonier,  the  most  westerly  post,  except 
Fort  Pitt,  which  still  held  out,  was  relieved  by  a  party 
of  thirty  of  the  strongest  men,  who  were  sent  ahead  on 
forced  march  and  succeeded  in  breaking  through  the  be- 
sieging Indians  and  gaining  the  fort. 

Bouquet  arrived  at  Fort  Bedford  on  the  25th  and  on 
the  28th  he  reached  Fort  Ligonier.  There,  putting  what 
supplies  he  could  on  pack-horses,  and  leaving  his  wagons 
and  heavy  baggage  he  pushed  forward  toward  Fort  Pitt 
in  much  apprehension.  The  little  army  followed  Forbes* 
road,*  which,  through  neglect,  had  become  almost  im- 
passable; and  their  progress  led  them  through  such 
scenes  of  desolation  that  the  hearts  of  the  men  were  in- 

*  See  my  book  Colonial  Fights  and  Fighters:  The  Struggle  for  the  Valley 
of  the  Ohio. 


io        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

flamed  with  an  ever-growing  desire  for  vengeance  upon 
the  red  authors  of  the  ruin. 

The  army  marched  with  the  greatest  care.  A  little 
body  of  backwoodsmen  scouted  before  them,  followed 
by  a  strong  advance  party,  then  came  the  main  body,  then 
the  baggage  train,  then  the  rear-guard,  while  another 
party  of  frontiersmen  covered  the  rear  and  the  flanks. 
There  were  only  thirty  of  these  valuable  adjuncts,  how- 
ever, and  the  protection  they  could  give  and  the  scout- 
ing they  could  do,  was  limited.  Bouquet  had  left  the 
weakest  of  his  men  in  the  forts  and  his  force  now 
amounted  to  about  five  hundred  men  all  told. 

On  the  5th  of  August  they  had  arrived  in  the  vicinity 
of  a  little  creek  called  Bushy  Run,  about  twenty-five 
miles  from  their  goal.  Their  advance  had  been  subjected 
to  desultory  firing  from  time  to  time,  so  that  it  was  per- 
fectly well  known  that  savages  were  marking  their 
progress. 

Early  in  the  afternoon,  in  a  dense  wood,  they  came  in 
touch  with  the  Indians.  The  firing,  which  began  with 
startling  suddenness,  was  too  heavy  for  a  mere  skirmish. 
The  Indians  were  in  great  force  and  had  determined  to 
intercept  them,  having  temporarily  raised  the  siege  of 
Fort  Pitt  for  that  purpose.  The  continual  rattle  of  arms 
and  the  wild  yells  which  rang  through  the  wood,  apprized 
the  experienced  leader  that  the  engagement  was  fast  be- 
coming serious.  In  fact  twelve  out  of  the  eighteen  men 
who  led  the  advance  were  shot  down  almost  instantly. 
Ordering  the  baggage  and  convoy  to  halt  where  they 
were  on  the  top  of  the  hill  mentioned,  and  leaving  the 
rear  company  to  look  after  it,  Bouquet  hurried  to  the 
front  followed  by  the  main  body  of  his  soldiery.  Ad- 
vancing his  troops  and  deploying  them  into  such  a  line 


How  Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania  n 

as  the  forest  growth  permitted,  Bouquet  charged  through 
the  woods  with  the  bayonet.  The  Indians  at  once  gave 
way  before  the  onrush  of  the  Highlanders  and  the  light 
infantry,  but  when  Bouquet  halted  the  charge  and  re- 
called his  men  lest  they  should  become  scattered,  and 
he  lose  control  of  them,  the  savages  crept  back  through 
the  trees  and  resumed  the  engagement. 

As  they  had  done  years  before  to  Braddock's  men,  so 
now  they  extended  themselves  through  trie  wood  on 
either  side  and  endeavored  to  attack  the  British  on  the 
flanks.  But  whatever  they  did  the  soldiers  met  them. 
There  was  no  panic  this  time  on  the  part  of  those  weak 
and  feeble  half-invalid  soldiers.  Bouquet  was  an  entirely 
different  man  from  Braddock  and  he  had  won  the  confi- 
dence of  his  men.  They  trusted  him  entirely  and  they 
had  seen  and  heard  too  much  of  the  Indian  customs  on 
their  march  not  to  know  that  to  break  and  run  meant 
destruction. 

Bouquet  carefully  manoeuvred  his  men  through  the 
trees,  skilfully  checking  and  driving  back  the  advancing 
Indians  from  time  to  time  by  well-delivered  volleys  or 
short  rushes  with  the  bayonet.  The  battle  was  going 
favorably  when  firing  in  the  rear  told  him  that  the 
Indians,  who  much  outnumbered  the  English,  had  en- 
gaged the  rear-guard.  Still  keeping  his  front  to  the 
enemy  Bouquet  withdrew  his  troops  and  posted  them 
around  the  hill  in  rear  of  the  first  position,  thus  afford- 
ing protection  to  the  convoy  and  the  baggage. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  now  and  until  night  fell 
the  battle  was  kept  up.  The  Indians  surrounded  the 
camp  and  fought  from  behind  the  trees.  There  was  no 
more  volley  firing  by  the  British,  but  they  lay  on  the 
ground  availing  themselves  of  all  possible  cover,  firing 


12        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

slowly  and  endeavoring  to  make  every  shot  tell.  When- 
ever the  impatient  Indians,  growing  bolder  as  they  ap- 
parently saw  their  prey  within  their  grasp,  left  cover  and 
advanced  they  were  driven  back  to  the  woods  with  the 
deadly  bayonet. 

Presently  the  welcome  night  came  and  the  attack 
ceased.  The  situation  of  the  British  was  indeed  deplo- 
rable, A  line  of  dead  men  from  the  first  hill  where  the 
first  onset  had  been  met,  back  to  the  camp,  showed  how 
faithfully  they  had  fought  and  how  resolutely  they  had 
been  attacked.  There  were  no  wounded  out  in  the 
forest  glades  either.  The  Indians  ruthlessly  butchered 
and  scalped  all  who  fell.  Some  sixty  of  the  English  had 
been  killed  or  wounded. 

They  were  surrounded  by  a  large  force  of  savages  and 
it  appeared  likely  that  the  terrible  experiences  of  the 
past  would  be  repeated  upon  them  on  the  morrow.  Bou- 
quet wrote  to  Amherst  that  night,  commending  in  brief 
soldier-like  words,  the  steadiness  and  valor  of  his  men, 
but  preparing  him  for  the  worst  possible  results  of  the 
expected  action,  which  he  realized  would  take  place  on 
the  morrow.  He  was  too  good  a  soldier  not  to  recog- 
nize the  peril  of  their  situation  and  too  brave  a  man  not 
to  admit  it. 

With  almost  any  other  commander  in  the  English 
service  in  a  similar  situation,  the  result  would  have  been 
certain.  Bouquet,  however,  was  in  himself  a  host.  He 
knew  that  his  only  chance  of  escaping  annihilation  would 
be  in  bringing  the  savages  to  a  stand,  where  he  could 
deliver  with  his  veterans  such  a  decisive  blow  as  would 
completely  defeat  them,  otherwise  he  was  doomed.  The 
Indians  could  keep  .him  on  that  hill  picking  off  his  men 
until  they  died  of  hunger  or  thirst,  if  nothing  else.  To 
retreat  was  impossible. 


How  Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania  13 


III.     The  Battle  of  Bushy   Run 

There  was  no  sleep  for  the  anxious  commander  that 
night.  As  he  walked  around  the  circle  among  his  ex- 
hausted men  lying  on  their  arms,'  as  he  passed  the  heavy 
cordon  of  sentries  who  kept  watch  over  those  who  sought 
to  snatch  a  few  moments  of  needed  rest,  as  he  thought 
of  the  helpless  wounded  stifling  their  groans  with  heroic 
resolution  in  the  little  enclosure  on  the  crest  of  the  hill, 
as  he  recalled  the  wretched  women  and  children,  the  ter- 
rified inhabitants  of  the  forts  and  towns  who  were  look- 
ing to  him  for  protection,  and  praying  God  for  the 
success  of  his  expedition  which  was  the  only  barrier 
interposed  between  them  and  the  red  scourge  sweeping 
through  the  forests  from  the  westward,  he  sustained  a 
weight  of  responsibility  which  would  have  crushed  a  man 
less  stout  of  heart.  In  his  desperation  he  concocted  a 
plan  whereby  he  fondly  hoped  he  could  extricate  his 
forces  from  their  deadly  peril,  and  at  the  same  time  de- 
liver a  crushing  blow  upon  the  Indians. 

It  was  a  plan  worthy  of  the  keenest  warrior  that 
ever  endeavored  to  conquer  his  foe  by  savage  subtlety 
and  woodland  stratagem.  Feverishly  he  waited  for  the 
morning  and  prayed  for  a  favorable  time  and  opportu- 
nity to  put  the  plan  from  which  he  hoped  so  much,  upon 
which  so  much  depended,  into  execution. 

The  night  was  marked  by  one  instance  of  conspicuous 
heroism.  From  a  little  brook  hard  by  the  hill,  practically 
gone  dry  in  the  summer  weather  and  therefore  neglected 
by  the  besieging  Indians,  one  of  the  frontiersmen  named 
Byerly,  unobserved  by  the  savages,  succeeded  in  the 
darkness  in  bringing  in  his  hat  from  a  hidden  pool  which 


14        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

he  had  discovered,  a  few  mouthfuls  of  precious  water 
which  was  given  to  the  most  severely  wounded.  A 
slight  rain  which  fell  toward  morning  also  refreshed  them 
somewhat,  but  most  of  the  men  suffered  greatly  from 
thirst  during  the  night;  they  had  had  no  water  since 
noon  of  the  day  before. 

When  the  day  broke  over  the  haggard  but  desperate 
and  determined  band,  the  Indians  resumed  the  attack. 
As  soon  as  it  was  light  enough  to  see,  the  firing  began 
again.  Steadily  the  men  fought  on,  lying  crouched  behind 
such  shelter  or  cover  as  they  were  able  to  come  by,  while 
the  slow  hours  of  the  hot  morning  dragged  away.  The 
Indians,  having  learned  by  the  experience  of  the  preced- 
ing day,  at  first  took  great  care  not  to  expose  themselves 
and  the  British  sustained  their  fire  as  best  they  could. 
The  savage  warriors  at  once  marked  their  commander 
from  his  brilliant  uniform,  and  fired  at  him  so  constantly 
that  upon  the  insistence  of  his  officers  he  changed  his 
clothing  to  render  himself  less  conspicuous.  The  small 
tree  behind  which  he  took  shelter  while  he  did  this  was 
hit  by  no  less  than  fourteen  bullets  during  the  time. 

Many  of  the  soldiers  were  struck  down,  and  of  the 
pack-horses  numbers  were  killed  and  others  broke 
through  the  lines,  plunging  upon  the  men,  especially  the 
wounded,  and  creating  wild  confusion  in  the  camp. 
Their  drivers  as  a  rule  proved  cowardly  and  left  the  terri- 
fied animals  to  their  own  devices.  Still  Bouquet  did  not 
dare  to  drive  the  horses  away.  He  would  need  them 
when  he  had  won  the  battle. 

So  he  clung  tenaciously  to  his  position  and  his  heroic 
men  fought  on  uncomplainingly  while  he  waited  for  the 
favorable  opportunity  to  display  the  stratagem  he  had 
planned.  For  four  hours  the  men  lay  on  that  open  hill 


How  Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania   15 

in  the  hot  sun  of  August,  without  food  or  water,  and 
kept  up  the  engagement.  The  Indians,  as  Bouquet  had 
foreseen,  grew  bolder  from  their  immunity,  being  adepts 
at  fighting  under  cover,  and  as  the  certainty  of  success 
grew  upon  them,  they  began  creeping  nearer  and  fight- 


J.A  RGC  (\SWAMP 

.iti*"..  ~"~ 


:/.  C«£/V/»0(£«S  . 

Z.LICHT  INFANT 
5.  BATTALION  MEN. 

if-.  RANGERS. 

5.  CATTLE. 

6.  nouses, 

TKlNTBENCHMENTS  Of 
SACS  FOR  WOUNDED. 

'p8.FlRST  POSITION  OF  TROOP* 
?,  CRAVES  ON  HILLOCK. 


Plan  of  the  Battle  of  Bushy  Run. 

ing  more  recklessly.     At  last  the  colonel  determined  that 
the  moment  for  striking  had  arrived. 

Fortunately  one  side  of  the  hill  was  cleft  by  a  ravine 
which  gave  entrance  upon  the  surrounding  valley.  The 
front  of  the  English  line  where  the  main  attack  was 


1 6        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

being  made,  was  held  by  two  companies  of  the  High- 
landers. Explaining  clearly  to  all  his  men  what  he  pro- 
posed doing,  and  why,  so  there  would  be  no  panic  and 
they  would  carry  out  his  orders  intelligently,  Bouquet 
ordered  these  two  companies  suddenly  to  withdraw  from 
the  line  and  retreat  rapidly  across  the  hill  until  they 
reached  the  ravine,  which  they  were  to  enter,  advance 
down  it,  and  hold  themselves  in  readiness  to  attack  from 
it.  At  the  same  time  the  companies  on  either  side  of 
the  gap  they  left  were  ordered  to  extend  across  it  in 
open  order  to  keep  the  circle  intact. 

At  the  word,  the  Highlanders  immediately  ran  to  the 
rear  and  plunged  into  the  ravine,  where  their  movements 
were  sheltered  from  the  view  of  the  Indians  by  its  depth 
and  by  the  bushes  growing  on  its  edge.  The  movement 
was  carried  out  perfectly.  As  the  Scots  rushed  away 
from  the  field  the  men  of  the  companies  to  the  right  and 
left  closed  the  opening. 

The  Indians  of  course  saw  the  manoeuvre.  Imagin- 
ing, naturally,  that  it  was  the  beginning  of  a  retreat, 
they  abandoned  their  cover  and  came  swarming  out  into 
the  open.  Pouring  a  furious  fire  upon  the  weakened 
line,  with  most  unusual  courage  they  charged  deliber- 
ately at  it,  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  in  hand.  The 
thin  line  of  soldiers  could  not  stand  the  massed  onset  of 
the  horde  of  the  braves,  and,  although  they  fought  hero- 
ically hand  to  hand  for  a  moment,  they  were  about  to 
give  way.  In  the  very  nick  of  time  the  Highlanders  in 
the  ravine,  came  running  out  into  the  open.  As  they 
appeared  on  the  right  flank  of  the  Indians,  without  halt- 
ing they  poured  in  a  volley  at  point-blank  range.  Though 
they  were  greatly  surprised  by  this  unexpected  dis- 
charge, the  savages,  who  displayed  the  most  astonishing 


How  Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania  17 

resolution  in  this  battle,  at  once  faced  about  and  returned 
the  fire,  but  when  they  saw  through  the  smoke  the  fierce 
Highlanders  springing  upon  them,  bayonet  in  hand, 
revenge  and  triumph  in  their  stern  faces,  they  gave  way 
and  fled. 

"  For  life  !    For  life  !  tney  plight  their  ply — 
And  shriek,  and  shout,  and  battle-cry, 
And  plaids  and  bonnets  waving  high, 
And  broadswords  flashing  to  the  sky, 
Are  maddening  in  the  rear  !  " 

Staking  everything  on  this  manoeuvre,  Bouquet,  when 
he  saw  the  Highlanders  advance,  broke  his  line  again 
and  threw  two  companies  of  Light  Infantry  out  of  the 
circle  on  the  other  flank.  The  flying  Indians  ran  right 
into  them  and  a  final  volley  swept  them  from  the  field. 
The  Indians  in  the  rear  of  the  camp  had  advanced  to 
attack  at  the  same  time  those  in  the  front  had  endeavored 
to  break  the  weakened  line,  but,  witnessing  the  repulse 
of  those  in  front,  they  gave  way  on  all  sides  before  a 
general  advance  and  abandoned  the  field. 

More  than  sixty  dead  Indians  lay  upon  the  ground 
where  the  Highlanders  and  Light  Infantry  had  charged, 
and  bloody  trails  through  the  woods  in  the  direction  of 
their  retreat,  showed  how  many  men  had  been  wounded. 
They  had  been  beaten  by  an  inferior  force  in  a  pitched 
battle,  in  a  fair  field  and  an  open  fight.  On  the  English 
side  the  loss  had  been  very  heavy.  One  hundred  and 
fifteen,  or  nearly  one  fourth  of  the  troops,  had  been  killed 
or  wounded.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  was  probably 
equally  as  great,  if  not  greater.  But  one  Indian  prisoner 
was  taken  and  the  men,  with  the  memory  of  the  scenes 
through  which  they  had  passed  to  animate  them,  shot 
him  to  death  as  he  had  been  a  mad  dog. 


1 8         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Tactically  this  engagement,  called  the  Battle  of  Bushy 
Run,  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant  fights  against  Indians 
which  ever  took  place  on  the  continent,  and  it  was  ren- 
dered memorable  by  the  fact  that  the  savages  had  ex- 
hibited a  willingness  to  join  in  hand  to  hand  fighting 
which  was  as  remarkable  as  it  was  unusual.  During 
Forsyth's  defence  of  the  Arickaree  in  western  Kansas,  a 
hundred  years  later,  the  Indians  there  made  a  charge 
in  the  open  and  endeavored  by  close  fighting  to  win  the 
day,  but  that  is  about  the  only  similar  instance  I  recall. 

The  expedition  had  been  saved  from  destruction  by 
Bouquet's  brilliant  tactics  alone.  The  English  were 
still,  however,  in  a  desperate  state.  Many  of  the  pack- 
horses  had  been  shot  and  most  of  the  precious  supplies 
had  to  be  destroyed  or  abandoned.  It  was  with  the 
greatest  difficulty  that  the  wounded  could  be  transported, 
yet  Bouquet,  making  such  dispositions  for  their  comfort 
as  he  could,  resumed  their  march.  Camped  on  the  bank 
of  Little  Turtle  Creek  that  same  evening,  they  were 
again  attacked,  but  the  Indians  manifested  little  diposi- 
tion  to  fight  after  the  decisive  and  costly  defeat  they 
had  sustained  in  the  morning,  and  they  were  easily 
driven  away. 

On  account  of  the  condition  of  his  men  it  took  Bouquet 
five  days  to  march  the  twenty  miles  between  him  and  Fort 
Pitt.  He  reached  it,  at  last,  however,  and  relieved  the 
garrison.  The  Indians  crushed  and  broken  by  their 
defeat  and  seeing  no  prospect  of  making  head  against 
the  combined  forces,  withdrew  from  that  section  of  Penn- 
sylvania. As  the  various  posts  were  re-established  and 
garrisoned  when  re-enforcements  were  forwarded  from 
the  east,  many  of  the  old  settlers,  and  some  new  ones, 
reoccupied  their  deserted  clearings. 


How   Bouquet  Saved  Pennsylvania  19 

IV.     The  End  of  Bouquet 

The  Indians  were  eventually  defeated  everywhere  in 
the  general  conflict  which  was  raging  through  the  north- 
west; and  the  year  after  his  splendid  fight,  Bouquet  led 
a  brilliantly  successful  expedition  through  the  country 
west  of  the  Ohio,  which  brought  about  their  complete 
submission  and  which  resulted  in  the  restoration  of  hun- 
dreds of  captives  to  those  who  thought  they  had  lost 
them  forever.* 

For  his  extraordinary  skill  and  courage  and  for  the 
success  of  his  expedition,  Bouquet  was  thanked  by  the 
king  and  promoted  to  be  brigadier-general.  He  died 
in  the  service  at  Pensacola  three  years  afterward  while 
still  in  the  prime  of  life.  In  addition  to  his  other  claims 
upon  our  consideration,  romance  appropriates  him,  since 
he  was  the  victim  of  an  unrequited  passion  for  a  beauti- 
ful Philadelphian.  Anne  Willing  refused  to  accept  him 
because  he  was  a  soldier,  and  she  married  another  and 
less  noted  man!  Poor,  lonely  Henry  Bouquet,  it  almost 
broke  his  heart. 

It  seems  a  heartless  thing  to  say,  but  the  bullet  that 
struck  down  Wolfe  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  and  the 
fever  that  carried  Bouquet  away  at  Pensacola,  did  good 

*  There  is  a  touching  little  story  of  a  mother  with  this  expedition  whose 
child  had  forgotten  her  and  who  had  vainly  endeavored  to  awaken  her  recol- 
lection, which  illustrates  one  phase  of  Bouquet's  character.  "  Sing  her  the 
song  with  which  you  put  her  to  sleep  as  a  baby,"  he  said  to  the  agonized 
woman,  with  a  touch  of  inspiration.  And  the  woman  sang  this  hymn :  — 

"  Alone  yet  not  alone  am  I 

Though  in  this  solitude  so  drear, 
I  feel  my  Saviour  always  nigh, 

He  comes  my  weary  hours  to  cheer." 

When  the  little  girl  heard  the  familiar  strain  of  her  infancy,  memory  came 
back  to  her  with  the  first  verse,  and  at  last  she  knew  her  mother. 


20        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

service  to  the  country  destined  to  become  the  United 
States  of  America;  for  they  were  such  accomplished  sol- 
diers, men  of  such  talent  and  genius,  that  had  they  been 
in  command  of  the  British  forces  in  the  War  of  the  Revo- 
lution, that  struggle  might  have  been  shorter  and  its 
results  possibly  vastly  different.  They  were  both  young 
enough  men  when  they  died  to  have  been  available  for 
service  in  1775. 

We  do  not  find  such  another  Indian  fighter  as  this 
gallant  Swiss  in  the  colonial  records,  and  it  is  noteworthy 
that  the  same  sort  of  troops  as  were  found  entirely  inade- 
quate to  the  situation  when  led  by  Braddock,  proved 
themselves  heroes  indeed  when  under  the  command  of 
a  greater  and  abler  man. 


PART  I 
PENNSYLVANIA 

II 

Captain  Samuel  Brady,  Chief  of  the  Rangers 


CAPTAIN     SAMUEL     BRADY,     CHIEF 
OF    THE    RANGERS 

I.     A  Family  of  Fighters 

AS  a  typical  pioneer  and  Indian  fighter  I  have 
chosen  to  include  in  this  series  some  account  of 
a  few  of  the  exploits  and  adventures  of  Captain 
Samuel  Brady,  whose  name  for  cool  daring,  unremitting 
vigilance,  unsparing  energy,  fertility  of  resource,  and  suc- 
cessful   enterprise,    was   a   household   word    in   western 
Pennsylvania  during  the  beginnings  of  the  nation. 

Few  families  among  our  early  settlers  contributed 
more  generously  and  freely  of  their  best  to  the  service 
of  their  country  than  that  from  which  Brady  sprang. 
His  father,  Captain  John  Brady  —  son  of  Hugh,  the 
Pr&positus  of  the  family  in  America,  who  was  descended 
from  that  famous  Irish  family  of  which  the  noted  versifier 
of  the  Psalms  was  a  member  —  like  Washington  and 
George  Rogers  Clark,  was  a  surveyor. 

He  was  commissioned  captain  in  the  2nd  Pennsylvania 
Battalion  in  1764  in  Bouquet's  expedition.  He  was  a 
noted  frontiersman  prior  to  the  Revolution,  and  when 
that  war  broke  out  was  appointed  a  captain  in  the 
1 2th  Pennsylvania  Continental  Line.  At  the  Battle  of  the 
Brandywine  his  regiment  was  cut  to  pieces  in  the  des- 
perate fighting  near  the  Birmingham  Meeting  House. 
He  was  badly  wounded  and  his  son  John,  a  lad  of  fifteen 

23 


24        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

who  had  come  like  David  of  old  with  supplies  for  the 
camp,  and  had  remained  for  the  battle,  was  also  wounded, 
and  only  saved  from  capture  by  the  act  of  his  colonel 
in  throwing  the  boy  upon  a  horse  when  the  troops  re- 
treated. So  fierce  was  the  fighting  that  every  officer 
in  Captain  Brady's  company  was  killed  or  wounded,  to- 
gether with  most  of  his  men. 

In  1778,  Captain  Brady  was  ordered  to  Fort  Pitt  and 
attached  to  the  regiment  of  Colonel  Brodhead,  who  was 
charged  by  Washington  personally  with  the  duty  of  pro- 
tecting the  western  Pennsylvania  frontier  from  the  in- 
cursions of  the  savages.  It  is  estimated  that  there  were 
at  one  time  or  another  more  than  twelve  thousand 
Indians  in  arms  in  the  pay  of  the  British.  Campbell 
states  that  four  hundred  Seneca  warriors  in  three  years 
on  the  border,  took  more  than  one  thousand  scalps,  two 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  of  them  having  belonged  to 
women  and  twenty-nine  to  children!  They  were  sent 
by  the  Indians  to  the  Governor  of  Canada,  to  be  by  him 
sent  as  a  present  to  the  King  of  England. 

As  most  of  the  able-bodied  men  west  of  the  moun- 
tains had  enlisted  in  the  Continental  Line  the  valleys 
were  without  protection  until  Washington  sent  Brodhead 
thither.  One  of  the  frontier  posts  by  which  it  was  hoped 
to  protect  the  country  was  located  near  Muncy  and 
called  Fort  Brady  in  honor  of  its  commander. 

James  Brady,  Captain  John's  second  son,  who  was 
himself  a  militia  captain,  was  killed  near  there  by  the 
Indians.  A  small  party  of  men  were  reaping  in  one  of 
the  fields  a  short  distance  from  Loyalsock,  in  the  fall 
of  1778.  Captain  James  Brady  was  in  command  of 
them.  Four  men  watched  while  the  others  worked.  A 
large  party  of  the  Indians  stole  upon  them  unperceived 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers       25 

and  opened  fire,  whereupon  the  most  of  them  fled. 
Captain  Brady  ran  for  his  gun.  According  to  one  ac- 
count, he  secured  it,  shot  one  of  the  Indians  dead,  seized 
another  gun,  was  shot  himself,  then  stabbed  by  a  spear, 
tomahawked,  and  scalped.  He  had  long  red  hair.  It 
is  related  that  one  of  his  frontier  friends  a  week  before 
his  death,  watching  him  dress  and  plait  it  in  the  queue, 
which  was  the  fashion  of  the  day,  remarked  to  him: 

"  Jim,  the  Indians  will  get  that  red  scalp  of  yours 
yet." 

The  young  captain,  who  was  only  twenty  at  the  time, 
laughingly  replied  that  if  they  did  they  would  have 
something  to  lighten  their  darkness  for  them!  The  red 
hair  was  characteristic  of  the  family  and  has  persisted  in 
many  members  to  the  present  day.  Young  Brady  sur- 
vived his  frightful  wound  for  five  days  and  died  at  Fort 
Brady  in  the  arms  of  his  mother,  an  heroic  pioneer 
woman. 

A  year  after  this,  Captain  John  was  shot  and  instantly 
killed  by  Indians,  who  fled  from  the  scene  of  the  murder 
with  such  precipitation  that  they  did  not  scalp  him,  and 
his  body  with  his  watch,  seals,  and  weapons,  was  re- 
covered intact.  His  son,  Hugh,  too  young  to  fight  in 
the  Revolution,  rose  to  be  a  Major-General  in  the  United 
States  Army.  As  commander  of  the  22nd  Infantry,  he 
was  shot  through  the  body  in  the  first  charge  at  Lundy's 
Lane.  A  letter  from  Hugh's  nephew,  Captain  John's 
grandson,  who  was  an  officer  in  his  uncle's  regiment, 
tells  how  the  general  fell  and  fainted  from  loss  of  blood 
but  was  lifted  to  his  horse  and  continued  in  command 
until  nearly  the  close  of  the  action.  He  had  two  horses 
killed  under  him  in  this  battle  and  only  gave  up  the 
command  when  he  was  unable  to  sit  or  stand  from  loss 


26        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

of  blood.*  Another  of  Captain  John's  grandsons,  Will- 
iam, volunteered  for  service  in  Perry's  squadron  and 
fought  in  the  Battle  of  Lake  Erie. 

There  were  thirteen  children  born  to  this  old  Pioneer 
Captain,  of  whom  five  were  girls.  Two  boys  died  in 
infancy  and  another  just  before  the  War  of  1812.  The 
other  five  fought  in  every  war  which  took  place  while 
they  were  alive. 

The  most  distinguished  of  them  all,  however,  unless 
it  be  General  Hugh,  was  the  oldest,  Captain  Samuel 
Brady,  Chief  of  the  Rangers.  On  August  3rd,  1775,  he 
enlisted,  being  then  only  nineteen  years  of  age,  as  a 
private  soldier,  and  was  ordered  to  Massachusetts.  He 
participated  in  the  operations  around  Boston,  and  in  the 
Battle  of  Long  Island,  where  he  so  distinguished  himself 
for  bravery  that  he  was  promoted  to  a  lieutenancy,  skip- 
ping the  grade  of  ensign.  He  fought  at  White  Plains 
and  was  one  of  that  ragged  starved  little  band  of  men 
who  clung  to  Washington  and  with  which  he  made  that 
desperate  strike  back  at  Trenton  and  Princeton  in  the 
darkest  hour  of  the  Revolution.f  As  one  of  Hand's 
riflemen  at  Princeton,  he  barely  escaped  capture  on  ac- 
count of  his  impetuous  gallantry. 

He  was  brevetted  a  captain  for  gallant  service  at 
the  Brandywine  and  Germantown.  At  the  Massacre  of 
Paoli,  he  was  surrounded,  pursued,  and  narrowly  escaped 
with  his  life.  So  close  were  the  British  to  him  that  as 
he  leaped  a  fence  they  pinned  him  to  it  by  thrusting 
bayonets  through  his  blanket-coat.  He  tore  himself 
away,  shot  dead  a  cavalryman  who  had  overtaken  him 

*  See  my  book  American  Fights  and  Fighters.     Niagara  Campaign. 
f  See  my  book  American  Fights  and  Fighters.     Washington's  Greatest 
Campaign. 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers       27 

and  ordered  him  to  surrender,  found  safety  in  a  swamp, 
where  he  gathered  up  some  fifty-five  men  who  had 
escaped  and  led  them  safely  to  the  army  in  the  morning. 
He,  too,  was  ordered  to  western  Pennsylvania  with 
his  regiment,  in  which  he  appears  at  first  as  a  captain- 
lieutenant.  He  was  borne  on  the  rolls  successively  of 
the  Third,  Sixth,  and  Eighth  Pennsylvania  Line  until 
the  termination  of  the  Revolution. 


II.     The  First  of  the  Borderers 

It  was  his  services  as  a  borderer,  however,  that  espe- 
cially entitle  him  to  attention.  What  Boone  was  to 
Kentucky  and  Kenton  to  Ohio,  that  Sam  Brady  was  to 
western  Pennsylvania.  His  services  were  so  great  that 
Colonel  Brodhead  successfully  urged  his  promotion  to 
a  full  captaincy  and  commended  him  specifically  in  a 
personal  letter  to  General  Washington.  Indeed,  on 
more  than  one  occasion,  he  was  selected  by  Washing- 
ton, through  Colonel  Brodhead,  for  certain  specific  and 
important  duties;  and  there  is  a  letter  of  Colonel  Brod- 
head's  extant,  which  is  published  in  the  Pennsylvania 
archives,  in  which  the  colonel  states  that  he  has  just 
received  a  special  letter  of  commendation  for  Captain 
Brady  from  the  great  Commander-in-Chief  himself.  Al- 
though he  was  only  twenty-seven  years  old  when  the 
war  closed  he  was  by  universal  consent  regarded  as  the 
chief  ranger,  hunter,  scout,  and  frontiersman  on  the 
Pennsylvania  border. 

The  Allegheny  and  Ohio  rivers  constituted  the  west- 
ern and  northern  boundaries  of  the  colonies.  George 
Rogers  Clark,  Boone,  and  others  ranged  over  the  north- 
ern Kentucky  line  to  protect  the  settlements,  Poe  and 


28        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Wetzel  around  Wheeling,  and  Brady  and  his  men  from 
Fort  Pitt  to  Lake  Erie.  His  services  were  well-nigh 
continuous.  He  was  always  in  the  woods.  No  enter- 
prise was  too  dangerous  for  him  to  undertake.  No 
danger  was  so  great  as  to  deter  him.  He  was  constantly 
employed  until  the  war  was  over,  and  when  General 
Wayne  mustered  an  army  to  avenge  St.  Clair's  defeat 
and  crush  the  Indians,  Brady  was  given  command  of  all 
his  scouts,  rangers,  and  pioneers. 

Captain  Brady  died  on  Christmas  Day,  1795,  leaving 
a  name  which  is  still  remembered  in  western  Pennsyl- 
vania, and  which  has  been  much  referred  to  by  those 
who  have  written  the  annals  of  the  west.  Indeed  the 
old  settlers  in  their  letters,  reminiscences,  and  early 
records,  do  not  hesitate  to  compare  him — and  not  to  his 
disadvantage — to  the  great  Daniel  Boone  himself. 

Partly  from  these  records  and  partly  from  family  tra- 
ditions and  old  letters,  some  of  his  exploits  have  been 
preserved.  I  shall  not  attempt  to  give  them  in  chrono- 
logical order.  Indeed  it  is  impossible  to  date  some  of 
them.  Like  every  other  famous  borderer  he  has  been 
made  the  subject  of  myth  and  legend,  and  heroic  tale 
has  grown  about  him,  but  there  is  good  authority  for 
the  adventures  here  set  down. 

III.     The  Adventure  at  Bloody  Spring 

On  one  occasion  he  was  ordered  by  Colonel  Brodhead 
upon  a  scouting  expedition.  He  took  with  him  two 
tried  comrades  named  Biggs  and  Bevington.  Ranging 
northward  from  Fort  Pitt,  at  a  place  above  the  mouth 
of  the  Beaver,  near  the  present  village  of  Fallston,  where 
there  was  a  clearing,  they  came  upon  the  ruins  of  the 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers       29 

cabin  of  a  settler  named  Gray.  The  Indians  had  just 
visited  the  cabin,  the  walls  and  chimney  of  which  were 
still  blazing  from  the  torch  which  they  had  applied. 

There  was  not  a  living  person  to  be  seen.  They  were 
carefully  reconnoitring  the  place  when  the  keen  ears  of 
the  captain  detected  the  sound  of  a  horse  approaching. 
Fearful  lest  the  Indians  who  had  committed  the  depreda- 
tion might  not  have  departed,  Brady  and  his  men  scat- 
tered and  concealed  themselves.  The  horseman  proved 
to  be  Gray,  the  master  of  the  cabin,  who  had  been  away 
some  distance  on  that  morning. 

Brady  and  his  companions,  as  was  the  usual  custom 
on  such  expeditions,  were  dressed  to  resemble  Indians 
and  had  painted  their  faces  further  to  disguise  themselves. 
The  captain  knew  if  he  showed  himself  to  Gray  in  that 
guise  the  settler  would  probably  shoot  him  before  he 
could  explain,  so  he  waited  concealed  until  Gray  passed 
him,  leaped  upon  the  horse,  seized  the  settler  in  his  arms 
and  whispered,  "  Don't  struggle.  I'm  Sam  Brady." 

When  the  man  became  quiet  he  told  him  of  the  catas- 
trophe at  his  cabin.  Summoning  Bevington  and  Biggs 
the  whole  party  cautiously  made  their  way  to  the  ruined 
home.  Gray's  state  of  mind  may  well  be  imagined,  for 
he  had  left  in  the  cabin  that  morning  his  wife,  her 
sister,  and  five  children.  A  careful  search  of  the  ruins 
satisfied  them  that  there  were  no  charred  remains  among 
the  ashes.  They  were  confident,  therefore,  that  the 
Indians  had  taken  the  women  and  children  away  with 
them. 

The  experienced  woodsmen  soon  picked  up  the  trail, 
which  they  cautiously  but  rapidly  followed.  The  Ind- 
ians, who  seemed  to  be  in  some  force,  made  not  the 
slightest  effort  at  concealment.  Brady's  men  had  wanted 


30         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

to  return  to  Fort  Mclntosh  and  get  assistance  before 
they  pursued.  The  captain  of  the  rangers  pointed  out 
that  to  do  that  would  cause  them  to  lose  so  much  time 
that  they  could  not  hope  to  overtake  the  Indians,  so 
the  four  men  resolved  to  press  on  and  do  the  best  they 
could.  They  swore  to  follow  Brady's  leadership  and  he 
promised  not  to  desert  Gray,  who  would  have  gone  on 
alone  if  the  others  had  failed  him. 

Brady's  knowledge  of  the  country  enabled  him  to 
foresee  the  path  the  Indians  would  probably  take  and 
by  making  short  cuts,  toward  evening  the  party  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  Indians  they  were  pursuing,  trailing 
over  a  mountain  a  mile  away.  They  counted  thirteen 
Indians,  eight  of  them  on  horseback,  together  with  the 
two  women  and  five  children.  Bringing  his  woodcraft 
again  into  play,  Brady  concluded  that  the  Indians  would 
stop  for  the  night  in  a  deeply  secluded  dell  in  a  ravine 
in  the  mountains  where  there  was  a  famous  spring.  The 
configuration  of  the  ground  made  it  possible  to  light  a 
fire  there  without  betraying  the  whereabouts  of  the  fire- 
builders  to  the  surrounding  country. 

He  therefore  led  his  party  up  a  little  creek,  which 
thereafter  was  known  as  Brady's  Run,  until  about  seven 
o'clock  they  reached  a  spur  of  the  mountain  from  which 
they  could  look  down  upon  the  spring.  Sure  enough, 
there  were  the  Indians.  There,  too,  were  the  weary, 
dejected  women,  and  the  children  too  exhausted  and  too 
frightened  to  cry.  Utterly  unsuspicious  of  observation 
the  savages  made  camp,  built  a  fire  and  prepared  their 
evening  meal. 

For  three  mortal  hours  the  four  woodsmen  lay  con- 
cealed watching  the  camp.  Finally  the  Indians  disposed 
themselves  in  a  semicircle,  surrounding  the  women  and 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers      31 

children,  with  the  fire  in  the  centre.  The  muskets, 
rifles,  and  tomahawks  were  piled  at  the  foot  of  a  tree 
some  fifteen  feet  from  the  right  point  of  the  circle.  One 
by  one  the  Indians  sank  into  slumber,  as  did  the  poor 
dejected  prisoners. 

Brady  had  long  since  made  his  plan.  There  was  only 
one  way  to  kill  those  Indians,  and  that  was  without 
waking  them.  If  they  had  fired  on  them  they  might 
have  killed  four,  yet  the  odds  would  have  been  still  more 
than  two  to  one,  besides  which  the  rangers  could  hardly 
have  fired  without  killing  some  of  the  women  and  chil- 
dren. He  decided  that  the  Indians  should  be  knifed 
while  they  slept. 

Appointing  Gray  to  take  the  right  of  the  semicircle, 
Bevington  the  left,  choosing  the  centre  himself,  and  di- 
recting Biggs  to  secure  the  guns  and  tomahawks,  the 
three  men  approached  to  within  three  hundred  yards  of 
the  sleeping  camp  and  then  crept  on  their  knees  toward 
the  Indians.  They  were  forced  to  leave  their  guns  be- 
hind them  and  trust  only  to  scalping-knife  and  toma- 
hawk. It  was  a  frightful  risk,  but  their  only  chance. 

With  snake-like  caution  and  in  absolute  silence  they 
crawled  over  the  ground.  When  within  fifty  feet  of  the 
camp  a  dead  twig  cracked  and  broke  under  Biggs'  hand. 
The  sound  woke  an  Indian,  who  lifted  himself  on  his 
hands  and  stared  sleepily  over  the  fire.  The  four  men 
were  as  still  as  death.  Hearing  nothing  further  the 
Indian  sank  back  again.  They  waited  fifteen  minutes 
for  him  to  get  sound  asleep  and  once  more  began  their 
stealthy  and  terrible  advance.  They  so  timed  their 
manoeuvres  that  they  reached  the  line  simultaneously. 

Three  knives  quietly  rose  and  fell.  Frontier  knowl- 
edge of  anatomy  was  sufficient  to  enable  them  to  strike 


32        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

accurately,  and  three  Indians  died.  Again  they  struck. 
And  yet  again. 

The  third  Indian  that  Gray  struck  was  not  instantly 
killed.  He  partially  rose,  whereupon  Gray  finished  him 
with  his  tomahawk.  The  body  of  the  Indian  fell  across 
the  legs  of  the  man  next  him.  He  opened  his  mouth 
to  cry  out,  but  before  he  could  make  a  sound  Brady's 
ready  knife  struck  him  in  the  heart.  There  were  now 
only  three  Indians  left  alive. 

The  women  and  children  were  awakened  at  the  same 
time  and  the  woods  rang  with  their  frightened  screams. 
As  they  saw  the  supposed  Indians,  bloody  knife  in  hand, 
looking  horribly  in  the  flickering  light  of  the  fire,  the 
women  and  children  fled  to  the  woods.  Gray  pursued 
them  calling  their  names. 

The  three  remaining  Indians,  now  wide  awake,  at- 
tempted to  rise.  Brady's  terrible  knife  accounted  for 
one,  his  tomahawk  did  for  the  other,  and  Biggs,  who  had 
at  last  reached  the  rifles,  shot  the  last  one  dead.  Brady 
had  killed  six,  Bevington  and  Gray  each  three,  and  Biggs 
one.  That  war  party  was  annihilated. 

The  women  and  children  were  soon  found.  The 
horses,  arms,  and  other  plunder  of  the  Indians  were  se- 
cured, every  one  of  the  savages  was  scalped,  and  the 
party  returned  in  safety  to  Fort  Mclntosh.  The  place 
bears  the  name  of  Bloody  Spring  to  this  day. 

It  was  the  constant  practice  of  frontiersmen  to  scalp 
the  Indians  whenever  they  could.  It  is  impossible  for 
us  to  enter  into  the  spirit  prevalent  at  that  time,  but  it 
is  evident  that  the  settlers  thought  no  more  of  killing  an 
Indian  than  they  would  of  killing  a  rattlesnake,  or  a  pan- 
ther; and  indeed  the  horrors  they  witnessed  and  which 
every  one  of  them  had  felt,  either  in  his  own  person, 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers      33 

or  in  the  persons  of  those  near  and  dear  to  them — as 
Brady's  father  and  brother — had  rendered  them  abso- 
lutely ruthless  so  far  as  Indians  were  concerned.  Be- 
sides, the  scalp  of  an  Indian  had  a  commercial  value. 
In  the  Colonial  Records  of  Pennsylvania,  under  date  of 
Monday,  February  19,  1781,  Philadelphia,  in  the  Minutes 
of  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  of  Pennsylvania,  of 
which  Joseph  Reed  was  President,  I  find  the  following: 

"  An  order  was  drawn  in  favor  of  Colonel  Archibald 
Lochry  Lieutenant  of  the  County  of  Westmoreland,  for 
the  sum  of  12  Ibs,  ics.  state  money,  equal  to  2500  dol- 
lars, Continental  money,  to  be  by  him  paid  to  Captain 
Samuel  Brady,  as  a  reward  for  an  Indian  scalp,  agreeable 
to  a  late  proclamation  of  -this  board."  (Italics  mine.) 

This  interesting  document  is  signed  by  his  Excellency 
Joseph  Reed.  He,  with  his  associates,  therefore,  is 
particeps  criminis  in  the  scalp-taking  business!  It  was 
a  government  affair. 

IV.     Brady's  Famous  Leap 

On  another  occasion  Brady  led  a  party  of  rangers  into 
what  is  now  Ohio,  in  pursuit  of  some  of  the  Sandusky 
Indians.  He  ambushed  them  at  a  small  lake  in  Portage 
County,  which  was  known  thereafter  as  Brady's  Lake. 
The  ambush  was  successful  in  that  the  party  they  were 
pursuing  were  most  of  them  killed,  but  unfortunately  a 
second  and  larger  war  party  of  Indians  unexpectedly 
appeared  on  the  scene  in  the  middle  of  the  action. 
Brady  was  captured  after  a  desperate  fight.  Most  of  his 
men  were  killed  and  scalped  and  but  few  escaped. 

Rejoicing  at  the  importance  of  their  capture,  the 
Indians  deferred  his  torture  until  they  could  take  him  to 
3 


34        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

the  Sandusky  Towns  which  were  the  head-quarters  for 
all  the  Indians  in  that  part  of  the  country.  They  re- 
solved to  make  his  burning  a  memorable  one  and  kept 
him  in  confinement  until  they  could  communicate  with 
the  surrounding  tribes. 

The  day  of  his  punishment  finally  arrived.  He  was 
bound  to  a  stake  and  the  fires  were  kindled  around  him. 
They  were  in  no  hurry  to  kill  him  and  the  fires  were 
kept  rather  low  while  different  bodies  of  Indians  arrived 
on  the  scene.  In  the  confusion  attendant  upon  these 
arrivals  the  watch  upon  Brady  was  somewhat  relaxed. 
He  was  a  man  of  great  physical  strength.  He  cautiously 
strained  at  the  withes  with  which  he  was  bound  and 
finally  succeeded  in  loosing  them.  According  to  some 
accounts  the  heat  of  the  fire  enabled  him  to  break 
them. 

Although  he  was  badly  scorched,  for  he  had  been 
stripped  of  his  clothing  when  he  was  tied  to  the  stake, 
he  leaped  across  the  barrier  of  flame,  seized,  according 
to  one  account,  an  Indian  squaw,  the  wife  of  the  princi- 
pal chief,  according  to  another,  her  child,  pitched  her 
into  the  fire,  and  in  the  alarm  caused  by  his  bold  action, 
broke  away. 

He  had  kept  himself  in  as  good  physical  condition  as 
possible,  taking  what  exercise  he  could  though  confined, 
and  he  dashed  madly  for  his  life  through  the  woods  with 
several  hundred  Indians  upon  his  heels.  He  actually 
made  good  his  escape.  He  had  no  arms,  no  clothing, 
nothing  to  eat.  The  Indians  pursued  him  with  implaca- 
ble persistence.  Yet,  sustained  by  his  dauntless  resolu- 
tion, he  managed  to  keep  ahead  of  them.  For  over  a 
hundred  miles  he  plunged  through  the  woods,  subsisting 
upon  roots,  berries  or  whatever  he  could  get,  until 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers      35 

finally  he  came  to  the  Cuyahoga  River,  near  what  is  now 
Kent  in  Portage  County. 

He  had  intended  to  cross  the  river  at  Standing  Rock, 
a  noted  ford,  but  found  that  the  Indians  had  intercepted 
him.  The  river  at  the  point  where  he  struck  it,  flowed 
between  steep  rocky  banks  rising  some  twenty-five  feet 
from  the  water's  edge.  It  was  a  deep  roaring  torrent. 
At  the  narrowest  point,  at  that  time,  it  was  between 
twenty-five  and  thirty  feet  across  to  the  opposite  bank, 
which  was  not  quite  so  precipitous  as  that  upon  which 
he  stood,  being  rough  and  somewhat  broken. 

Having  cut  him  off  from  the  ford,  the  Indians  be- 
lieved that  they  could  take  him  without  fail  in  the  oul  de 
sac  formed  by  the  river.  There  was  no  other  ford  for 
miles  up  and  down.  Running  back  into  the  woods  tow- 
ard the  approaching  Indians  whose  shouts  he  could  hear 
to  get  a  start,  Brady  desperately  jumped  from  the  bank. 
He  cleared  the  river  and  struck  the  bank  on  the  other 
side  a  few  feet  below  the  edge  and  scrambled  up  it  just 
as  the  first  pursuer  appeared. 

"  Brady,"  said  the  man,  "  make  damn  good  jump. 
Indian  no  try." 

The  Indians,  however,  shot  at  Brady  and  wounded 
him  in  the  leg  before  the  captain  could  escape.  Without 
waiting  he  resumed  his  flight,  but  his  wounded  leg  so 
hampered  him  that  the  Indians  who  had  crossed  the 
ford  were  again  hard  upon  his  heels.  In  this  extremity  he 
plunged  into  the  water  at  Brady's  Lake,  where  he  had 
been  captured,  stooped  beneath  the  surface,  and  concealed 
himself  among  the  lilies,  breathing  through  a  hollow 
reed.  The  Indians  followed  his  bloody  trail  to  the  lake, 
around  which  they  searched  for  some  time  and  seeing 
no  sign  of  his  exit  concluded  that  he  had  plunged  in 


36        Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

and  was  drowned.     He  afterward  succeeded  in  getting 
safely  back  to  the  fort. 


V.     An  Expedition  with  Wetzel  and  Other 
Adventures 

The  year  1782  was  a  remarkable  one  for  savage  Indian 
outbreaks.  It  was  known  in  local  border  history  as 
"  The  Bloody  year,"  or  "  The  Bloody  '82."  Rumors  of 
a  grand  alliance  between  the  western  tribes  to  descend 
upon  the  settlements  and  finally  wipe  them  out,  reached 
Washington,  and  the  general  requested  Colonel  Brod- 
head-to  send  reliable  persons  to  spy  on  the  Indians  and 
if  possible  find  out  what  they  were  about  to  do.  The 
choice,  as  usual,  fell  upon  Brady.  He  asked  but  for  one 
companion,  who  was  the  famous  Lewis  Wetzel. 

Brady  and  Wetzel  were  familiar  with  the  Indian 
tongue.  They  could  speak  Shawnese  or  Delaware  like 
the  natives  themselves.  Contrary  to  the  family  habit 
Brady  was  a  swarthy  man,  with  long  black  hair  and 
bright  blue  Irish  eyes,  taking  after  his  mother  in  that. 

The  two  men  disguised  themselves  as  Indians,  de- 
liberately repaired  to  the  grand  council  at  Sandusky, 
representing  themselves  to  be  a  deputation  from  a  distant 
sept  of  Shawnees,  which  was  desirous  of  joining  in  the 
projected  conspiracy.  They  moved  freely  about  among 
the  Indians  at  first  entirely  unsuspected.  They  partici- 
pated in  the  council  and  obtained  a  complete  knowledge 
of  the  plans  and  purposes  of  the  Indians. 

One  veteran  chief,  however,  finally  became  suspicious. 
Perhaps  he  detected  the  white  man  through  the  guttural 
syllables,  or  the  white  faces  under  the  war  paint.  The 
two  men  whose  every  nerve  had  been  pressed  into  ser- 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers      37 

vice  and  whom  nothing  escaped,  caught  the  suspicious 
glances  of  the  old  man.  Consequently  when  he  sprang 
to  his  feet  and  seizing  a  tomahawk  started  toward  them, 
it  was  the  work  of  a  second  for  Brady  to  shoot  him  dead. 

Concealment  being  no  longer  possible,  Wetzel  shot  a 
prominent  chief,  the  men  clubbed  their  rifles,  beat  down 
opposition,  sprang  away  from  the  council  fires,  dashed 
through  the  lines,  seized  two  of  the  best  horses — Ken- 
tucky stock  which  had  been  captured  in  a  raid — and  rode 
for  their  lives.  They  were  pursued,  of  course,  by  a  great 
body  of  Indians,  and  had  many  hairbreadth  escapes. 

Wetzel's  horse  finally  gave  out  and  thereafter  the  two 
men,  one  riding  the  other  running,  pressed  madly  on. 
Finally  the  second  horse,  fairly  ridden  to  death,  gave 
way,  but  reaching  a  village  of  some  friendly  Delawares, 
they  got  another  horse  and  dashed  on.  Several  times 
they  doubled  on  their  trail  and  shot  down  the  nearest 
pursuers,  checking  them  temporarily. 

Finally  they  reached  the  Ohio.  It  was  bank  full,  a 
roaring  torrent.  It  was  early  in  March,  and  the  weather 
was  bitterly  cold.  They  forced  their  horse  into  the 
water,  Brady  on  its  back,  Wetzel,  who  was  the  better 
swimmer,  holding  its  tail  and  swimming  as  best  he  could. 
They  had  a  terrible  struggle  but  reached  the  other  bank 
at  last.  The  water  froze  on  their  bodies.  Wetzel  was 
entirely  exhausted  and  almost  perished  with  the  cold. 
Brady  killed  the  horse,  disembowelled  it  and  thrust  his 
companion's  body  into  the  animal,  hoping  that  the  ani- 
mal heat  remaining  in  it  might  keep  Wetzel  alive  while 
he  built  a  fire,  which  he  recklessly  proceeded  to  do. 

As  soon  as  the  fire  was  kindled  he  took  Wetzel  out 
of  the  body  of  the  horse  and  brought  him  to  the  fire 
where  he  chafed  his  limbs  until  the  circulation  was  re- 


281279 


38         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

stored.  The  Indians  gave  over  the  pursuit  at  the  Ohio, 
and  the  two  men  escaped. 

The  plans  of  the  Indians  being  discovered  by  this 
daring  exploit,  the  settlements  prepared  for  them,  the 
conspiracy  fell  to  pieces,  and  the  projected  incursion 
came  to  naught. 

Words  fail  to  tell  of  the  many  incidents  in  which  this 
dashing  young  pioneer  bore  a  prominent  part.  The 
enterprise  for  which  he  was  commended  by  Washington 
was  similar  to  the  one  just  described.  He  went  alone 
to  the  Sandusky  Towns  in  1780  and  made  a  map  of  the 
region,  located  the  towns,  crept  near  enough  to  the 
principal  village  to  learn  the  plans  of  the  Indians,  capt- 
ured two  squaws,  mounted  them  on  captured  horses  and 
made  good  his  escape. 

Near  the  Ohio  one  of  the  squaws  escaped.  With  the 
other,  ranging  through  the  forest,  he  came  across  an 
Indian  on  horseback  with  a  woman  on  the  pommel  of 
the  saddle  and  two  children  running  alongside.  Recog- 
nizing the  woman  as  the  wife  of  a  frontiersman  named 
Stupes,  Brady,  by  a  wonderful  exhibition  of  marksman- 
ship, shot  the  Indian  dead  without  injuring  the  woman. 

"  Why,"  said  Jenny  Stupes,  as  she  saw  the  painted 
figure  of  the  captain,  for  he  was  still  in  his  disguise, 
dashing  toward  her  scalping-knife  in  hand,  "  did  you 
shoot  your  brother?  " 

"  Don't  you  know  me,  Jenny?  I  am  Sam  Brady," 
said  the  captain,  grasping  the  terrified  woman  by  the 
hand. 

Taking  Jenny  and  her  children  and  still  retaining  his 
prisoner,  he  rapidly  retreated  toward  the  settlements. 
The  Indian  he  had  shot  had  been  separated  from  a  small 
band  which  happened  to  have  retained  Jenny  Stupes' 


Brady,   Chief  of  the  Rangers      39 

little  dog.  By  the  aid  of  the  animal,  which  naturally  ran 
after  its  mistress,  the  fugitives  were  trailed.  At  the  time 
he  shot  the  Indian  Brady  had  but  three  loads  for  his  rifle. 
He  could  not  afford  to  expend  one  of  them  on  the  dog 
yet  it  had  to  be  killed  or  it  would  betray  its  mistress. 
They  sat  down  and  waited  until  the  dog  came  running 
up  to  them,  when  he  was  speedily  despatched  with  a 
tomahawk,  and  Brady  succeeded  in  bringing  the  party 
safely  to  Fort  Pitt. 

He  was  several  times  captured.  On  one  occasion  he 
rolled  to  a  fire  in  the  night,  burnt  his  bonds,  brained  one 
of  the  Indians  with  a  stake  and  got  away. 

At  another  time,  after  a  long  scouting  expedition,  he 
suddenly  came  upon  two  Indians  near  a  huge  tree.  One 
was  standing  on  the  shoulders  of  the  other  cutting  bark 
for  a  canoe.  Brady  had  but  one  load  for  his  rifle. 
Quickly  deciding  what  to  do  he  shot  the  lower  Indian 
through  the  heart,  whereupon  the  other  one  came  tum- 
bling heavily  to  the  ground.  He  was  partially  stunned. 
Brady  ran  toward  him  knife  in  hand  but  the  Indian  stag- 
gered to  his  feet  and  fled,  by  which  the  captain  came 
in  possession  of  two  guns  and  a  supply  of  ammunition 
and  was  enabled  to  proceed  on  his  expedition. 

Whenever  there  was  danger  or  loss  his  services  were 
at  command.  Not  only  did  he  serve  his  country  in  sev- 
eral of  the  battles  in  which  he  commanded  his  company 
both  in  the  east  against  the  British,  and  in  several  expe- 
ditions against  the  Indians  in  the  west,  but  he  did  more 
to  guard  the  helpless  settlers,  rescue  captured  women 
and  children,  and  to  discover  and  thwart  the  Indian  plans 
than  any  man  in  Pennsylvania.  The  women  and  chil- 
dren loved  him  and  the  men  swore  by  him,  for  he  was 
the  protector  of  the  frontier. 


40        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

From  these  gruesome  tales  it  must  not  be  imagined 
that  he  was  only  a  blood-thirsty  and  reckless  borderer. 
On  the  contrary,  like  most  of  his  family,  he  was  a  devout 
Presbyterian,  and  a  marvellous  student  of  the  Bible. 
His  grandnephews  and  nieces  tell  how  he  used  to  arrive 
at  the  cabin  in  which  they  lived,  after  some  expedition, 
and  when  the  evening  meal  was  over  and  the  lesson  of 
Scripture  with  which  these  simple  people  prepared  for 
rest,  was  read,  Captain  Sam  Brady  would  suggest  that 
they  read  it  "  varse  about;  "  and  they  relate  that  when 
his  turn  came  he  generally  recited  his  verse  without  the 
aid  of  the  book,  such  was  his  mastery  of  the  Bible !  To 
his  family  and  friends  he  was  as  kind  and  gentle  as  a 
woman.  A  family  tradition  says  that  he  was  the  model 
for  Cooper's  famous  Leatherstocking. 

His  brother,  General  Hugh,  says  that  James  Brady, 
who  was  killed  by  the  Indians,  was  six  feet  one  inch  in 
height  and  that  there  was  scarcely  an  inch  difference  in 
height  among  all  the  brethren.  Sam  was  a  man  of  great 
personal  strength  and  activity.  His  favorite  resting-place 
when  at  home  was  on  the  floor  by  the  open  fireplace. 
There  he  would  lie  and  tell  stories  to  the  children  who 
adored  him.  There  he  slept  rolled  in  his  blanket. 

He  was  a  singular  mixture  of  the  Puritan  and  Cavalier. 
He  could  pray  like  an  old  Covenanter  and  fight  with  all 
the  dash  and  spirit  of  Prince  Rupert.  Pennsylvania 
owes  him  a  debt  of  gratitude  which  should  never  be  for- 
gotten. 


PART  II 
VIRGINIA,  TENNESSEE,  THE  CAROLINAS 

I 
On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution 


ON  THE  EVE   OF  THE   REVOLUTION 

I.     Andrew  Lewis  and  his  Borderers 

AROUND  the  pedestal  of  Crawford's  Equestrian 
Statue  of  Washington  in  Richmond,  among  those 
of  Jefferson,  Patrick  Henry,  John  Marshall,  and 
other  worthies,  is  carved  the  figure  of  a  huge  man  dressed 
in  a  fringed  hunting-shirt  and  carrying  a  rifle.     It  is  the 
effigy  of  General  Andrew  Lewis,  one  of  the  greatest  of 
the  borderers. 

Lewis  was  born  in  Ireland  in  1720.  His  father  was  a 
Huguenot,  who  came  to  America  after  a  quarrel  when 
Andrew  was  a  child.  The  family  settled  on  the  western 
border  of  Virginia  near  what  is  now  Staunton,  and 
speedily  became  prominent.  Andrew  was  the  oldest  of 
four  brothers,  all  of  whom  did  good  service  in  the  colo- 
nies and  in  the  Revolution.  Three  of  them  were  sol- 
diers, one  of  whom  died  in  battle,  and  the  last,  prevented 
from  active  campaigning  by  physical  disabilities,  shone 
as  statesman,  was  an  associate  of  Patrick  Henry,  after- 
ward a  member  of  the  Virginia  Constitutional  Conven- 
tion, and  in  every  way  possible  did  what  he  could  for 
the  cause  of  liberty. 

Andrew  was  the  most  conspicuous  member  of  the 
family.  He  was  one  of  the  little  band  under  Washington 
that  fought  off  Coulon  de  Villiers  at  Fort  Necessity  in 
the  Great  Meadows,  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  French 

43 


44        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

and  Indian  War.  Lieutenant  Lewis  was  wounded  on 
this  occasion.  As  captain  he  formed  part  of  Braddock's 
army  in  1756,  where,  although  he  was  not  in  the  ac- 
tual battle  on  the  Monongahela,  he  did  good  service 
under  Washington  in  endeavoring  to  protect  the  rav- 
aged border  after  the  overwhelming  defeat  of  the 
British.* 

In  1759  he  was  major  of  Washington's  regiment  under 
General  John  Forbes.  He  participated  in  Grant's  foray 
against  Fort  Duquesne,  where  he  was  involved  in  the 
defeat  of  that  rash  officer's  foolish  enterprise.  He  was 
there  captured  after  a  desperate  hand  to  hand  fight  in 
which  he  was  wounded  again.  When  Grant,  seeking  a 
scapegoat,  strove  to  cast  upon  Lewis  the  odium  of  his 
defeat,  the  Virginian  in  a  towering  rage  at  the  false  ac- 
cusation, spat  in  his  face  and  knocked  him  down.  Grant 
did  not  press  the  charge  thereafter. 

Promoted  a  colonel  in  1759  he  led  an  expedition 
against  the  Shawnees  which,  through  no  fault  of  his,  was 
without  decisive  results,  and  which  is  known  as  the 
"  Sandy  Creek  Voyage,"  or  campaign.  He  was  a  com- 
missioner from  Virginia  at  the  celebrated  treaty  at  Fort 
Stanwix  in  1768.  Lewis  was  six  feet  two  in  height,  and 
of  Herculean  proportions  and  strength  otherwise,  al- 
though he  carried  himself  with  great  activity.  "  His 
countenance  was  stern  and  forbidding — his  deportment 
distant  and  reserved;  this  rendered  his  person  more 
awful  than  engaging."  So  writes  a  contemporary,  who 
further  relates  that  the  Governor  of  New  York,  one  of 
his  fellow  commissioners  at  Fort  Stanwix,  wrote  of  him, 
"  that  the  earth  seemed  to  tremble  at  his  tread." 

*  See  my  book  Colonial  Fights  and  Fighters :  The  Struggle  for  the  Valley 
of  the  Ohio. 


On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution    45 

In  1774  there  was  a  little  war  with  the  Indians  at 
first  known  as  Cresap's  War,  but  latterly  as  Lord  Dun- 
more's  War,  the  importance  of  which  was  so  over- 
shadowed by  the  Revolution  that  followed  hard  upon  it 
that,  but  for  one  incident,  it  would  be  quite  forgotten 
to-day.  Yet  the  student  now  sees  it  was  quite  essential 
to  the  prosecution  of  the  greater  war,  to  the  first  success 
of  which  it  contributed  in  no  small  degree. 

The  treaty  consequent  upon  Bouquet's  expedition  in 
1764,  was  not  rigidly  observed  by  the  Indians.  There 
was  constant  trouble  on  the  border,  although  nothing 
like  what  had  before  obtained.  The  Indians  continued 
restless  and  active;  there  was  a  continual  clashing  of 
arms  everywhere  and,  in  this  instance  decidedly,  the  sav- 
ages were  mainly  the  aggressors.  That  is  not  saying 
that  the  settlers  were  blameless.  Far  from  it,  but  the 
balance  of  wrong-doing  was  against  the  Indians. 

To  these  unsettled  conditions  the  unseemly  strife  be- 
tween Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  for  the  possession  of 
the  lands  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  Alleghenies  largely 
contributed.  In  1774  matters  had  reached  such  a  state 
that  it  was  felt  that  an  open  war  must  soon  break  out. 
Active  hostilities  were  begun,  tinder  great  provocation, 
in  the  spring  by  a  certain  Captain  Cresap,  who  led  a 
party  of  frontiersmen  to  the  wilderness  surveying,  etc. 
Some  Indians  were  fired  upon  by  Cresap's  party  and 
killed,  and  the  action,  though  small,  was  known  as  the 
"  Captina  Affair." 

Some  forty  miles  west  of  Pittsburg  on  the  Ohio,  there 
lived  among  the  Mingos,  or  Shawnees,  a  Cayugan — that 
is,  an  Iroquois — warrior,  named  Tah-gah-jute,  who  is 
more  commonly  known  to  posterity  by  the  name  given 
him  by  the  settlers,  Logan.  Among  the  warring 


46        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

tribes,  Logan  had  exercised  a  strict  neutrality.  Rather 
more.  He  had  befriended  the  white  men  on  many  occa- 
sions. 

The  most  serious  happening,  which  finally  put  an  end 
to  possibilities  of  even  the  quasi-peace  which  might  have 
been  maintained,  was  the  unprovoked  murder  of  Logan's 
entire  family,  including  women  and  children,  by  a  ruf- 
fianly trader  named  Greathouse,  on  April  3Oth,  1774. 
These  Indians  were  first  made  drunk  and  then  ruthlessly 
butchered  without  opportunity  of  defence,  and  for  no 
occasion  whatsoever. 

The  cruel  murder  turned  the  peaceable  Logan  into  a 
fiend.  With  a  few  companions  he  declared  war  on  his 
own  account  at  once.  Thinking  that  Cresap  had  ordered 
the  massacre,  although  he  was  entirely  innocent  of  it, 
and  was,  as  frontiersmen  go,  too  honorable  a  man  to 
have  done  it,  Logan  sent  him  a  defiance  and  began  to 
raid  the  border.  As  usual,  the  vengeance  fell  on  the  in- 
nocent. No  less  than  thirty  people  were  killed  by  him 
before  the  authorities  were  awakened. 

Lord  Dunmore.  the  Royal  Governor  of  Virginia,  acted 
with  commendable  promptness.  He  embodied  the  mili- 
tia of  the  counties  west  of  the  Blue  Ridge  and  called  for 
volunteers.  The  left  wing  was  ordered  to  rendezvous  at 
the  Great  Levels  of  the  Greenbriar,  now  Lewisburg,  and 
was  placed  under  the  command  of  General  Andrew 
Lewis.  The  other  division,  under  the  command  of 
Dunmore  himself,  assembled  at  Frederick.  Lewis  was 
ordered  to  lead  his  men  over  the  mountains  until  he 
struck  the  Kanawha,  down  which  he  was  to  march  until 
he  came  to  the  place  where  it  flowed  into  the  Ohio. 
There  Dunmore,  who  was  to  march  through  Potomac 
Gap  to  the  Ohio,  was  to  meet  him,  and  the  two  divisions 


On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution    47 

conjoined  were  to  march  up  the  Scioto  to  the  Shawanee 
Indian  towns,  which  they  were  to  destroy. 

The  movement  was  vastly  agreeable  to  the  old  back- 
woodsman, and  the  sturdy  pioneers  of  western  Virginia 
were  embodied  under  their  local  officers  and  repaired  to 
his  standard  at  Camp  Union  with  joyous  alacrity.  Colo- 
nel Charles  Lewis,  the  brother  of  the  general,  led  some 
four  hundred  men  from  Augusta;  Colonel  William  Flem- 
ming  an  equal  number  from  Botetourt.  From  over  the 
mountains  came  the  settlers  from  the  Holston  and  the 
Watagua  in  Fincastle  County,  led  by  Colonel  William 
Christian.  There  was  also  an  independent  company  led 
by  Colonel  John  Field. 

Among  the  subordinate  officers  were  men  destined 
afterward  to  achieve  a  wide  reputation.  Captain  Evan 
Shelby  commanded  a  company  in  which  his  son  Isaac 
was  first  lieutenant.  Isaac  was  afterward  one  of  that 
dauntless  band  which  wiped  out  Ferguson,  and  when  he 
was  a  very  old  man  and  the  Governor  of  Kentucky,  he 
led  his  volunteers  to  the  assistance  of  William  Henry 
Harrison,  and  participated  in  the  defeat  of  Tecumseh  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Thames — "Old  King's  Mountain" 
they  called  him.  Another  captain  was  Benjamin  Harri- 
son, one  of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence from  Virginia,  and  the  ancestor  of  two  of  our  Pres- 
idents. Valentine  Sevier,  brother  of  the  great  pioneer 
of  Tennessee,  was  with  the  force.  A  humble  sergeant  in 
the  ranks  was  one  James  Robertson,  whose  name  is  held 
in  the  highest  esteem  in  western  Tennessee. 

Others  who  participated  in  the  war,  although  not  with 
Lewis'  command,  were  George  Rogers  Clark,  Simon 
Kenton,  Daniel  Morgan,  and  the  afterward  infamous 
renegade  Simon  Girty.  In  one  way  or  another  nearly 


48        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

everyone  of  prominence  afterward  in  the  then  far  west, 
served  in  the  war.  Daniel  Boone  commanded  three 
small  frontier  forts.  John  Sevier  was  a  captain,  and 
among  the  officers  and  soldiers  were  many  men  like 
General  George  Matthews,  the  hero  of  Germantown, 
General  Andrew  Moore,  the  first  and  only  man  ever 
elected  to  the  United  States  Senate  by  Virginia  from  the 
west  of  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  many  others  of  importance, 
although  most  of  them  are  now  more  or  less  forgotten. 
In  quality  Lewis'  force  was  remarkably  high.  They 
were  in  the  main  an  undisciplined  lot,  who  submitted 
grudgingly  to  his  rule  and  would  probably  have  utterly 
refused  to  obey  anybody  else.  They  knew  nothing  of 
the  tactics  of  soldiers,  but  they  were  an  unsurpassed  body 
of  border  fighters. 

II.     The  Battle  of  Point  Pleasant 

The  assemblage  began  about  the  first  of  September 
and  was  nearly  completed  on  the  seventh. 

On  the  eighth,  the  first  division  started  accompanied 
by  four  hundred  pack-horses  loaded  with  flour  and  driv- 
ing one  hundred  and  eight  beef  cattle.  Field  and  his 
company  followed  them  and  soon  joined  them.  A  few 
days  afterward  the  second  division  marched  out  with  two 
hundred  pack-horses  and  the  balance  of  the  cattle.  The 
march  led  straight  across  the  mountains.  There  was  no 
road;  not  even  a  trail.  The  men  had  to  cut  their  way 
through  the  timber.  Such  a  thing  as  wagon  transporta- 
tion was  absurd  and  unheard  of.  They  made  good  time, 
however,  all  things  considered,  and  their  progress  was 
greatly  facilitated  when  they  reached  the  Kanawha  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Elk,  and  marched  down  its  banks. 


On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution     49 

They  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  on  the  6th  of 
October,  having  traversed  one  hundred  and  sixty-five 
miles  of  primeval  forest  and  rugged  mountain  range. 
Colonel  Christian,  with  some  two  hundred  men,  had  been 
left  behind  at  the  camp  to  bring  up  the  rear-guard  and 
the  balance  of  the  supplies.  The  pack-horses  were  un- 
loaded when  they  reached  the  Kanawha  and  the  supplies 
were  floated  down  the  river  in  canoes  or  on  rafts.  The 
horses  were  then  sent  back  to  the  Greenbriar  to  bring 
up  the  remainder  of  supplies  under  the  direction  of  Colo- 
nel Christian,  who  was  very  unwilling  to  delay  his  ad- 
vance to  take  the  part  assigned. 

Arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kanawha,  according  to 
one  account  they  found  a  note  in  a  hollow  tree  which 
had  been  put  there  by  Kenton  and  Girty;  according  to 
another,  they  were  met  by  these  men  with  letters  from 
Dunmore  ordering  Lewis  to  march  up  the  Ohio  to  join 
Dunmore's  force.  Lewis'  men  were  greatly  exhausted 
by  their  terrible  march.  They  were  not  yet  all  assem- 
bled, and  it  would  not  be  safe  to  leave  Colonel  Christian 
and  his  three  hundred  men  alone  in  the  wilderness,  so 
he  determined  to  delay  his  departure  until  the  rear-guard 
had  joined  him. 

The  ninth  was  Sunday.  The  assemblage  was  by  no 
means  the  godless,  reckless  crowd  which  we  naturally 
imagine  it  might  have  been,  for  it  is  related  that  they 
had  services  conducted  by  a  chaplain  in  which  the  hardy 
Scotch-Irish  Presbyterians  lustily  took  part,  Lewis  set- 
ting the  example,  although  personally  he  was  an  Episco- 
palian. On  the  morning  of  the  tenth  two  young  men 
started  out  before  daybreak  on  a  hunting  expedition. 
Some  four  or  five  miles  from  the  camp  they  ran  into  a 
large  body  of  Indians.  One  was  shot  dead  before  he 


50        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

could  get  away  and  the  other  killed  an  Indian,  made  his 
escape,  and  ran  post-haste  to  the  camp  bearing  the  alarm. 

The  chief  of  the  Shawnees,  who  were  to  the  middle 
west  what  the  Iroquois  were  to  the  north  and  the  Creeks 
to  the  south,  was  a  veteran  warrior  named  Cornstalk.  In 
every  war  on  the  border  he  had  borne  a  prominent  part. 
Ruthless  and  ferocious,  as  all  the  Indians  were,  he  was 
not  without  redeeming  qualities.  He  was  a  man  of  the 
greatest  courage  and  capacity.  Indeed  he  showed  a 
grasp  of  military  science  and  tactics  unusual  in  one  of 
his  race.  The  Indians  were  perfectly  aware  of  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Virginians.  They  knew  they  were  coming 
in  two  widely  separated  armies,  and  Cornstalk  determined 
to  fall  upon  the  weaker  body  and  crush  it  before  it  had 
time  to  effect  a  junction  with  the  other,  with  which  he 
could  then  deal.  It  was  sound  strategy. 

Massing  his  warriors,  whose  number  about  equalled 
the  Americans — say  eleven  hundred  on  each  side — he  led 
them  down  the  river  designing  to  fall  upon  Lewis'  camp 
in  the  night  and  annihilate  his  force.  The  fortunate  dis- 
covery by  the  two  hunters  in  a  measure  frustrated  his 
plans.  Realizing  that  the  escaping  fugitive  would  give 
the  alarm,  Cornstalk  at  once  put  his  band  in  motion. 
They  were  ferried  across  the  Ohio  in  rafts  and  came  tear- 
ing through  the  woods  close  on  the  heels  of  the  fugitive, 
thinking,  as  they  phrased  it,  to  drive  the  borderers  "  like 
bullocks  into  the  river." 

As  soon  as  the  alarming  message  had  been  delivered 
Lewis  ordered  the  long  roll  to  be  beaten.  Some  of  the 
men  were  not  yet  awake  when  the  first  rattle  of  the  drum 
echoed  through  the  forest.  They  sprang  to  their  arms 
instantly,  however,  and  fell  into  such  line  as  their  undis- 
ciplined condition  permitted. 


On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution     51 

The  camp  had  been  made  at  the  confluence  of,  and 
between,  the  two  rivers.  On  the  left  lay  the  Ohio,  on 
the  right  the  Kanawha.  There  was  little  chance,  there- 
fore, of  either  flank  being  turned.  It  was  a  good  place 
for  defence,  although  if  the  American  line  were  thor- 
oughly broken  the  troops  would  be  annihilated,  for  there 
would  be  no  way  of  escape,  being  penned  in  between  the 
Indians  and  the  river. 

No  one  at  the  time  believed  that  the  Indians  were  more 
than  a  scouting  party;  they  never  dreamed  that  the 
whole  hostile  force  was  upon  them.  Colonel  Charles 
Lewis  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  was  ordered  to 
march  up  the  right  flank  along  the  Kanawha,  Colonel 
Flemming  with  a  like  force  was  ordered  up  the  left  flank. 
Colonel  Field  was  ordered  to  hold  himself  in  readiness 
to  advance  in  the  centre  with  another  party.  The  rest 
of  the  men  were  put  in  a  state  of  preparation  and  kept 
in  hand  by  Lewis  himself  until  he  could  determine  what 
was  to  happen. 

The  time  was  not  long  in  coming.  First  one  musket- 
shot,  then  another  and  another,  then  a  roaring  fusillade, 
apprized  the  listeners  that  here  was  no  skirmishing  party 
but  an  attack  in  heavy  force,  and  not  three  quarters  of 
a  mile  from  the  main  camp.  It  was  evident  that  the 
Indians  were  in  sufficient  numbers  to  cover  the  whole 
line  between  the  rivers. 

Back  with  the  main  body  Lewis  was  calmly  waiting. 
He  had  just  taken  out  his  pipe  when  the  first  rifle-shot 
rang  out.  Coolly  waiting  until  he  had  completed  the 
lighting  of  his  pipe,  the  sturdy  backwoodsman  quickly 
sent  Field's  column  forward  to  connect  the  two  columns 
led  by  Charles  Lewis  and  Flemming.  The  men  dashed 
eagerly  and  gallantly  through  the  woods  until  they 
reached  the  battle  line. 


52         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

The  Americans  had  taken  to  the  trees  as  the  Indians 
had  done  and  the  battle  was  raging  fiercely.  Colonel 
Charles  Lewis,  a  veteran  of  the  French  and  Indian  War, 
with  a  brilliant  record  for  courage  and  skill,  disdained 
the  use  of  cover  and  walked  about  through  his  command 
encouraging  his  men.  He  was  shot  and  mortally  wound- 
ed. On  the  other  flank  Colonel  Flemming,  another 
veteran,  while  holding  his  men  bravely  up  to  the  battle, 
was  shot  through  the  lung  so  severely  that  his  life  was 
despaired  of. 

The  Indians  were  massed  in  force  in  front  of  these  two 
bodies.  There  were  probably  three  Indians  to  one  white 
man  at  the  point  of  contact  and  their  firing  was  terrible. 
The  trees  offered  little  or  no  protection.  Disheartened 
by  the  loss  of  the  two  commanding  officers  the  Virgin- 
ians began  to  give  ground.  One  moment  more  would 
have  turned  their  withdrawal  into  a  disastrous  retreat, 
which  would  have  ruined  the  whole  command,  when 
Colonel  Field  arrived  on  the  ground  with  his  column  and 
restored  the  line. 

Captain  Evan  Shelby,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  right  flank  after  the  wounding  of  Charles 
Lewis,  managed  to  rally  his  men  and  the  line  held. 
Seeing  now  that  the  battle  was  general,  leaving  a  small 
force  to  protect  the  camp  and  watch  the  river  flanks, 
General  Lewis  led  his  force  forward  into  the  battle,  the 
men  extending  in  a  long  line  which  reached  from  river 
to  river  for  a  distance  of  a  mile  and  a  quarter.  He  got 
to  the  front  just  in  time;  Colonel  Field  had  been  killed 
and  the  line  was  wavering  again. 

The  Indians  exhibited  a  most  desperate  and  gallant 
offence.  They  made  charge  after  charge  upon  the  Vir- 
ginians, hurling  themselves  on  the  lines  again  and  again; 


On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution     53 

and  many  a  grim,  hand-to-hand  conflict  was  fought  out 
in  the  depths  of  woods  between  white  arid  red  man. 
The  forest  was  full  of  smoke  and  fire,  and  rang  with  shots, 
yells,  and  cheers.  Tomahawks  and  knives  were  freely 
used.  Lewis  was  everywhere  in  the  thick  of  the  fray, 
cool  and  calm,  encouraging  his  men  and  doing  every- 
thing that  a  brave  commander  could  do  to  ensure  a  vic- 
tory, but  what  the  end  was  to  be  was  not  easy  to  foresee. 

The  Indians  were  brilliantly  led  by  old  Cornstalk,  who 
showed  himself  a  hero.  His  voice  could  be  heard  above 
the  din  of  the  battle  exhorting  his  braves  to  stand  like 
men,  to  fight  it  out,  to  be  strong.  The  suddenness  of 
his  attack  and  the  tactics  employed,  which  consisted  in 
alternate  advance  and  retreat,  made  the  battle  the  most 
fiercely  contested  of  any  the  Indians  had  ever  taken  part 
in  on  the  continent.  During  the  heat  of  the  action  Corn- 
stalk was  seen  to  cut  down  a  cowardly  savage  with  his 
tomahawk. 

All  day  long  the  battle  raged,  but  toward  the  late 
afternoon  the  superior  steadiness  of  the  Americans  began 
to  tell.  Cautiously  covering  themselves,  they  advanced 
from  tree  to  tree,  slowly  forcing  the  stubborn  Indians  to 
retreat.  There  was  no  rout,  however,  on  the  part  of  the 
savages,  and  Cornstalk  managed  his  retreat  in  a  way  that 
would  have  done  credit  to  a  veteran  European  captain. 
His  tactics  were  masterly.  He  would  hurl  a  body  of  his 
Indians  on  the  American  advance,  throw  them  into  con- 
fusion for  a  moment,  and  before  they  could  rally  he 
would  withdraw  his  attacking  party,  and  when  the  Amer- 
icans came  on  again  they  would  be  confronted  by  a  new 
line.  The  loss  among  the  Americans  was  fearful. 

Finally  toward  evening  the  Indians  reached  a  heavily 
wooded  rise  of  ground  from  which  they  could  not  be 


54        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

driven.  The  battle  so  far  was  a  drawn  one,  the  advan- 
tage if  anything,  being  with  the  Americans,  except  in 
the  matter  of  loss. 

Lewis,  finding  that  Cornstalk  had  at  last  definitely 
stopped  the  advance  of  his  army,  detached  three  com- 
panies with  Isaac  Shelby  in  the  lead,  to  march  up  the 
Kanawha  until  they  came  to  Crooked  Creek,  up  which 
they  were  to  proceed  until  they  got  in  rear  of  the  Ind- 
ian line,  which  they  were  immediately  to  assault.  The 
movement  was  a  brilliant  one,  and  as  soon  as  the  crack 
of  muskets  and  rifles  apprized  the  general  that  Shelby's 
detachment  had  engaged,  he  ordered  a  final  advance  on 
the  Indian  line,  which,  however,  did  not  wait  the  Ameri- 
can attack. 

Mistaking  Shelby's  party  for  the  re-enforcements  un- 
der Colonel  Christian,  which  they  knew  were  due,  the 
Indians  withdrew  in  good  order,  carrying  most  of  their 
dead  with  them,  and  the  battle  ended  leaving  the  Ameri- 
cans in  possession  of  the  field.  They  had  paid  a  heavy 
price  for  their  victory.  Seventy-five  officers  and  men 
had  been  killed  and  one  hundred  and  forty  wounded, 
over  half  of  them  very  seriously.  The  loss  among  the 
officers  was  unusually  severe.  The  Indian  loss  has  never 
been  ascertained,  but  it  was  very  heavy,  although  not  so 
great  as  that  of  the  Americans,  which  was  over  twenty 
per  cent.  Logan  was  not  present  at  this  battle. 

Colonel  Christian,  to  whom  expresses  had  been  sent, 
arrived  on  the  field  that  night.  Waiting  several  days  to 
bury  the  dead,  attend  to  the  wounded,  and  erect  a  fort 
for  their  protection,  Lewis  left  three  hundred  men  on  the 
battle  field  at  Point  Pleasant — so  the  place  was  called — 
crossed  the  Ohio  and  marched  up  the  Pickaway  plains 
to  join  Dunmore.  His  men  were  filled  with  wrath 


On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution    55 

against  that  commander.  They  thought  he  had  betrayed 
them  to  the  Indians,  that  he  had  placed  them  in  a  posi- 
tion subject  to  attack,  and  then  had  left  them  without 
succor;  that  he  never  intended  to  meet  them. 

It  was  charged  afterward  that  Dunmore  would  not 
have  been  disappointed  if  the  Virginians  had  been  wiped 
out  on  this  occasion.  The  disaffection  which  culminated 
in  the  Revolution  six  months  later,  was  already  widely 
prevalent  in  Virginia,  and  the  men  thought  that  Dun-r 
more,  as  Royal  Governor,  would  have  been  glad  to  have 
weakened  the  forces  of  the  colonies  by  the  annihilation 
of  this  large  detachment. 

There  is  not  much  to  admire  in  the  character  of  Dun- 
more.  When  the  Revolution  came,  it  is  plain  that  he  en- 
deavored to  incite  not  only  a  servile  insurrection  among 
the  slaves  but  also  to  throw  the  savages  upon  the  border ; 
but  there  is  absolutely  no  foundation  for  the  assertion 
that  he  played  false  in  this  instance,  and  we  must  acquit 
him  'of  the  charges  made  which  have  remained  current 
for  many  years. 

Indeed  he  seems  to  have  acted  with  considerable  ca- 
pacity as  well  as  courage,  for  he  adroitly  took  advantage 
of  the  victory  to  make  a  treaty  with  the  Indians,  to  which 
they  assented  in  spite  of  the  strenuous  efforts  of  Corn- 
stalk and  others  to  constrain  them  to  continue  the  war. 
And  the  peace  was  of  lasting  benefit  to  the  rebellious 
colonies,  for  the  remembrance  of  their  defeat  kept  the 
Indians  quiet  during  the  early  years  of  the  Revolution; 
just  at  the  time,  in  fact,  when  their  antagonism  would 
have  been  most  serious  in  the  colonies. 

None  of  these  things  were  then  realized,  and  when 
Dunmore  and  Lewis  met,  such  was  the  state  of  affairs 
that  a  guard  of  fifty  men  was  required  to  prevent  the 


56         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

undisciplined  pioneers  from  taking  summary  vengeance 
for  the  supposed  treachery  of  Dunmore  by  putting  him 
to  death.  Lewis  himself  cherished  great  animosity  to 
Dunmore. 

III.     The  Fate  of  the  Participants  in  the  Campaign 

When  the  chiefs  met  at  Camp  Charlotte  to  sign  the 
treaty,  Logan  was  not  with  them.  He  had  refused  to 
be  present,  professing  that  he  would  be  unable  to  con- 
trol himself  in  the  presence  of  the  race  which  had  so 
bitterly  wronged  him.  Knowing  that  no  peace  could  be 
permanent  or  valid  without  Logan's  assent  to  it,  an  en- 
voy, a  veteran  frontiersman,  was  sent  to  him  to  secure 
his  ratification. 

To  him  Logan  made  a  speech,  very  famous  indeed, 
and  much  quoted  in  history  and  in  reading  books,  and 
which  used  to  be  a  great  favorite  with  the  youthful  de- 
claimers  of  the  public  schools,  though  now  fallen  into 
disuse  and  neglect.  It  is  this  speech  which,  in  a  meas- 
ure, has  kept  alive  the  remembrance  of  the  war  and  of 
Logan  himself.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  finest  specimen  of 
savage  eloquence  extant,  and  compares  with  any  effort 
of  the  kind,  civilized  or  otherwise. 

Although  its  authenticity  has  been  questioned,  it  may 
be  fairly  considered  as  a  faithful  report  of  the  old  chief- 
tain's impassioned  words.  Most  investigators  now  ac- 
cept it  as  genuine.  The  messenger  took  it  down  in 
writing  and  translated  it  literally  at  the  first  opportunity, 
and  it  was  immediately  given  to  the  world.  Several 
versions  of  it  exist.  Although  it  does  an  injustice,  un- 
wittingly, to  the  brave  Cresap,  a  soldier  in  the  Revolu- 
tion until  he  died — he  is  buried  in  Trinity  churchyard, 


On   the  Eve  of  the  Revolution     57 

New  York,  by  the  way — it  is  here  subjoined  in  its  ap- 
proved form: 

"  I  appeal  to  any  white  man  if  he  ever  entered  Logan's 
cabin  hungry  and  he  gave  him  no  meat;  if  ever  he  came 
cold  and  naked  and  he  clothed  him  not?  During  the 
course  of  the  long  and  bloody  war,  Logan  remained  idle 
in  his  camp,  an  advocate  for  peace.  Such  was  my  love 
for  the  whites  that  my  countrymen  pointed  as  I  passed 
and  said,  '  Logan  is  the  friend  of  the  white  man.'  I  had 
even  thought  to  have  lived  with  you,  but  for  the  injuries 
of  one  man. 

"  Colonel  Cresap,  the  last  spring,  in  cold  blood  and 
unprovoked,  murdered  all  the  relations  of  Logan,  not 
even  sparing  my  women  and  children.  There  runs  not 
a  drop  of  my  blood  in  the  veins  of  any  living  creature. 
This  called  on  me  for  revenge.  I  have  sought  it.  I 
have  killed  many.  I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance. 

"  For  my  country  I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace; 
but  do  not  harbor  a  thought  that  mine  is  the  joy  of  fear. 
Logan  never  felt  fear.  He  will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to 
save  his  life. 

"  Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan?     Not  one." 

Roosevelt  aptly  calls  it  "  no  message  of  peace,  nor  an 
acknowledgment  of  defeat,  but  instead,  a  strangely 
pathetic  recital  of  his  wrongs,  and  a  fierce  and  exultant 
justification  of  the  vengeance  he  had  taken." 

Logan  afterward  fell  into  bad  habits;  he  drank  to 
excess,  and  constantly.  He  participated  in  the  attacks 
on  the  Kentucky  settlements  during  the  Revolution, 
particularly  in  the  massacres  at  Martin's  and  Ruddle's 
Stations.  He  was  killed  by  another  Indian  in  a  drunken 
brawl — a  melancholy  end  indeed. 

Lewis'  conduct  in  the  battle  has  been  called  in  ques- 
tion by  no  less  an  historian  than  Bancroft,  but  unjustly, 
and  most  modern  investigators  give  him  full  credit  for 


58        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

undaunted  courage  and  devotion.  That  Washington 
continued  to  be  his  warm  personal  friend  and  that  he 
recommended  him  for  a  major-generalcy  at  the  outbreak 
of  the  Revolution,  and  privately  implored  him  to  con- 
tinue in  the  service  when  his  merits  were  passed  over 
and  he  was  given  only  a  brigadier's  commission,  is  evi- 
dence enough  of  his  efficiency  and  the  esteem  in  which 
his  contemporaries  held  him. 

Singularly  enough  to  Lewis  in  the  Revolution  was 
committed  the  task  of  finally  expelling  Dunmore  from 
the  state  of  Virginia.  He  accomplished  this  in  his  usual 
thoroughgoing  manner.  He  did  not  make  much  of  a 
mark  in  the  war  subsequently,  however.  The  fact  that 
he  had  been  passed  over  unjustly  rankled  in  his  mind 
and  at  last  he  resigned  his  command  as  John  Stark  and 
many  others  had  done.  His  health,  too,  gave  way;  he 
had  been  subjected  to  much  exposure  in  his  many  hard 
campaigns,  and  he  died  in  1780. 

The  fate  of  Cornstalk  is  a  melancholy  example  fre- 
quently met  with  in  our  records,  of  our  dealings  with 
the  Indian.  In  1777,  the  old  chief  came  to  the  com- 
mander of  Point  Pleasant,  Captain  Matthew  Arbuckle, 
to  warn  him  that  the  Shawnees  were  contemplating 
going  on  the  warpath;  that  he  was  endeavoring  to  re- 
strain them,  but  he  feared  his  success  would  be  slight. 
He  also  said  that  if  they  declared  war  he  should  be  forced 
to  join  them  as  they  were  his  people.  With  a  fatuity 
which  can  hardly  be  understood,  for  he  was  removing 
the  sole  check  upon  the  Shawnees,  the  American  captain 
thereupon  immediately  made  Cornstalk  a  prisoner,  in 
defiance  of  every  law  or  custom  of  civilized  nations. 

The  old  chief  seems  to  have  had  a  premonition  that 
his  race  was  run  and  for  himself  he  did  not  greatly  care. 


On  the  Eve  of  the  Revolution     59 

He  had  warred  enough  to  satisfy  even  the  heart  of  a 
savage  and  was  ready  for  his  end.  After  he  had  been 
a  captive  for  some  time  his  son  Ellinipsico  came  to  visit 
him  accompanied  by  two  or  three  other  Indians.  The 
day  after  their  arrival  two  soldiers  ranging  the  woods 
were  fired  upon  by  a  party  of  Indians  and  one  was  killed. 
Charging  that  the  Indians  who  had  committed  this  of- 
fence had  been  brought  there  by  Ellinipsico,  the  enraged 
soldiers  proceeded  to  mob  the  fort  shouting  in  their 
fury,  "  Death  to  the  Indians !  " 

Old  Cornstalk  heard  the  cries  and  realized  what  they 
meant.  Although  Ellinipsico  was  in  no  way  privy  to 
the  attack  by  which  the  soldier  had  been  killed,  and  the 
murder  it  was  learned  afterward  was  not  committed  by 
any  of  his  tribe,  there  was  no  use  in  remonstrating.  The 
officers  were  powerless  to  restrain  the  men — indeed  they 
manifested  little  desire  to  interfere.  The  soldiers  burst 
into  the  hut  where  the  Indians  had  been  confined. 
Cornstalk  received  them  standing  with  wide  open  arms. 
He  was  pierced  by  seven  bullets  and  instantly  killed. 
Ellinipsico  was  also  shot,  as  was  Red  Hawk,  another 
famous  chief  who  had  been  at  Point  Pleasant  battle,  and 
there  was  still  a  fourth  Indian  left,  who  was  brutally 
tortured. 

Cornstalk  had  been  a  dreadful  scourge  on  the  border. 
He  had  ravaged  and  burned  and  murdered  in  his  time, 
as  few  other  Indians  had  ever  done.  In  the  French  and 
Indian  War,  in  Pontiac's  War,  and  in  Dunmore's  War, 
he  had  taken  the  prominent  part.  All  that,  however, 
does  not  make  it  right  to  have  detained  him  as  a  pris- 
oner when  he  came  on  a  peaceable,  helpful  errand,  nor  to 
have  allowed  him  to  be  shot  for  an  action  with  which 
he  had  no  possible  connection, 


PART    II 
VIRGINIA,  TENNESSEE.  THE  CAROLINAS 

II 

The   Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee 


THE  PIONEERS  OF  EAST  TENNESSEE 

I.     John  Sevier  and  the  Watauga  Men 

UPON  a  pleasant  spring  morning  in  the  year  1772, 
three  horsemen  dressed  in  hunting  shirts,  the 
most   convenient  garb   ever  devised  for  wood 
ranging,  rode  up  to  the  cabin  of  James  Robertson,  the 
principal  man  of  the  little  settlement  of  North  Carolina 
pioneers  in  the  valley  of  the  Watauga,  in  what  is  now 
eastern  Tennessee.     All  three  of  them  were  destined  to 
play  important  parts  in  the  building  of  the  nation,  and 
one  of  them  especially  was  to  tower  far  above  his  con- 
temporaries in  character  and  achievement. 

That  man  was  John  Sevier,  the  organizer  of  the  first 
free  and  independent  democratic  government  upon  the 
continent,  the  leader  of  a  great  commonwealth;  an 
Indian  fighter  whom  few  have  ever  equalled;  a  soldier 
who  could  meet  the  finest  troops  on  the  continent  in  the 
field,  and  with  inferior  numbers  win  success  from  adverse 
circumstances;  an  administrator  who  could  conduct  the 
affairs  of  his  fellow-men  under  circumstances  of  the 
greatest  difficulty;  a  statesman  who  takes  rank  not  far 
behind  those  colossal  men  who  watched  the  travail  pains 
and  facilitated  the  delivery  of  the  new  nation  to  be.  Yet 
in  the  long  roll  of  books  telling  of  our  national  heroes 
I  find  singularly  few  which  adequately  treat  of  the  char- 
acter and  career  of  this  remarkable  man.  And  the  one 

63 


64        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

series  which  professes  to  discuss  his  achievements  with 
authority  is  interesting  but  highly  traditional  and  little 
to  be  depended  upon. 

Save  perhaps  in  the  great  state  of  Tennessee  he  is 
more  or  less  unknown  or  forgotten.  Even  his  decisive 
connection  with  one  of  the  most  notable  battles  of  our 
Revolution  is  obscured  by  the  reflection  cast  by  men  of 
less  fame.  To  the  trio  of  great  Tennesseans,  Crockett, 
Houston,  and  Jackson,  with  whose  career  the  world  is 
familiar,  must  be  added  the  name  of  Sevier.  He  may 
dispute  pre-eminence  fairly  enough  with  all  but  a  man  of 
such  colossal  characteristics  as  Andrew  Jackson. 

Crockett  and  Jackson  came  from  the  same  people. 
Their  origin  was  humble,  their  opportunities  limited,  and 
the  success  they  achieved  the  more  creditable.  Hous- 
ton was  a  man  of  fairly  good  family  of  the  middle  class, 
Sevier,  in  the  original  sense  of  the  term,  when  the  word 
specified  degree  instead  of  character,  was  a  gentleman; 
yes,  a  gentleman  in  modern  sense,  as  well.  His  family, 
it  is  claimed,  was  an  ancient  one  in  France  and  his  name 
was  derived  from  the  town  of  Xavier  in  Navarre  at  the 
foot  of  the  French  Pyrenees,  where  his  family  had  an 
considerable  estate  and  an  old  chateau.  Possibly,  as  is 
sometimes  urged,  the  name  may  have  been  originally  de 
Xavier. 

Sevier  came  naturally  by  his  love  for  the  mountains, 
for  his  people  had  for  centuries  dwelt  on  the  slopes  of 
that  forbidding  range.  It  is  alleged  that  there  was  a 
relationship  between  his  family  and  that  of  the  great 
Jesuit  St.  Francis  Xavier,  than  whom  no  more  heroic 
soul  ever  lived;  but  be  that  as  it  may,  unlike  their  Spanish 
namesake  the  French  Xaviers  were  Huguenots,  who  fled 
the  country  when  Louis  XIV  perpetrated  that  atrocious 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  65 

blunder — nay,  that  ineffable  crime — known  as  the  Revo- 
cation of  the  Edict  of  Nantes. 

Abandoning  their  home  the  family  went  first  to  Lon- 
don and  then  migrated  to  America,  seeking  freedom  in 
the  land  across  the  sea.  The  Old  Dominion  opened 
hospitable  arms  to  people  of  their  gentle  blood,  and  as 
they  had  saved  something  from  the  wreck  of  their 
fortunes  they  presently  became  people  of  prominence 
among  the  planters  of  Virginia.  There  in  1745  young 
John  Sevier,  for  so  the  family  name  became  anglicized, 
was  born.  He  was  given  the  best  education  which  it 
was  possible  to  receive  in  Virginia,  and  of  which,  with 
his  usual  ambition,  he  made  the  most  of  in  his  life. 

He  was  twenty-seven  years  of  age,  therefore,  when  he 
rode  up  to  Robertson's  house  on  the  Watauga.  He  had 
been  married  some  years  at  that  time  and  was  the  father 
of  two  promising  sons.  While  a  mere  boy  he  had  made 
a  name  for  himself  as  a  hunter,  trader,  and  pioneer,  and 
now  held  a  commission  as  captain  in  the  Virginia  line, 
the  same  corps  in  which  Washington  was  afterward  a 
colonel.  He  had  come  across  the  Alleghenies  to  the 
settlement  on  the  Watauga  to  build  himself  a  new  home 
in  this  recently  opened  country. 

I  cannot  doubt  but  that  God  led  him  across  the  hills, 
for  charmed  by  what  he  saw,  he  determined  to  cast  his 
lot  with  the  people  there,  of  whom  he  speedily  became 
the  idol  and  leader.  His  two  companions,  the  elder  a 
grizzly  veteran,  who  also  held  the  rank  of  captain  in  the 
Virginia  line,  were  Evan  and  Isaac  Shelby,  father  and 
son,  two  sterling  patriots  of  Welsh  descent.  Evan 
Shelby  rose  to  the  rank  of  general  in  the  Revolution 
and  although  he  had  a  distinguished  career,  may  be  dis- 
missed from  our  consideration.  Isaac  Shelby,  the  son, 
5 


66        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

however,  reappears  again  in  this  narrative,  and  was  asso- 
ciated with  Sevier  in  many  heroic  undertakings. 

When  Daniel  .Boone,  redoubtable  hunter,  explorer, 
adventurer,  man  of  heroic  mould,  first  toiled  over  the 
tree-crested  summits  of  the  Alleghenies  and  surveyed  the 
vast  expanse  of  mountain  and  valley  and  river  stretch- 
ing inimitably  before  him  toward  the  setting  sun,  country 
which  no  white  man  had  ever  trod,  a  doubtful  legend 
says  that  he  gave  vent  to  his  feelings  in  an  outburst  of 
enthusiasm  to  his  comrades,  in  these  words :  "  I  am 
richer  than  the  man  in  Scripture,  who  owned  cattle  on  a 
thousand  hills.  I  own  the  wild  beasts  in  a  thousand 
valleys ! "  Whether  he  said  it  or  no,  he  probably 
thought  it. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  genius  of  the  white  race, 
that  to  see  a  place,  to  set  foot  upon  it,  was  sufficient  to 
establish  a  claim  to  any  domain,  any  aboriginal  inhabi- 
tants to  the  contrary,  notwithstanding.  The  great  waste 
of  territory  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Tennessee,  which 
the  English  claimed  had  been  ceded  to  the  king  in  the 
famous  treaty  of  Fort  Stanwix  by  the  Iroquois, — who 
had  no  more  right  nor  title  to  it  than  Germany  has  to 
France,  for  instance, — was  the  hunting  ground,  the  place 
of  resort,  of  great  tribes  of  the  most  enlightened  and 
warlike  savages  south  of  the  Six  Nations,  upon  the 
continent. 

De  Soto  had  visited  it  in  1540,  and  an  Irish  trader, 
named  Dougherty,  had  settled  within  its  confines  within 
the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  century,  but  no  one 
had  ever  presumed  to  attempt  to  colonize,  or  hold  it, 
not  even  the  Cherokees,  whose  country  lay  adjacent  to 
the  beautiful  valley  of  the  Watauga. 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  67 


II.     "The  Rear  Guard  of  the  Revolution" 

The  first  actual  settlement  was  made  in  1769-70  by 
Robertson  and  a  party  of  North  Carolinians,  who  climbed 
the  mountains  and  built  their  huts  in  the  fertile  valley 
on  the  other  side.  There  in  a  well-watered  plateau,  some 
two  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  in  a  coun- 
try which  was  remarkable  for  the  fertility  of  its  soil  and 
the  salubrity  of  its  climate,  they  purchased  land  from  the 
Cherokees,  erected  cabins,  and  endeavored  to  make  the 
place  a  home.  Thither  Sevier  resorted.  Possessed  of 
ample  means,  indeed,  being  a  man  of  wealth  for  the 
time  and  place,  his  house  became  the  resort  of  the  hardy 
settlers,  whom  he  received  with  true  Virginia  hospitality. 

A  man  of  urbane  and  charming  disposition,  gay  and 
debonair,  yet  of  inflexible  resolution  and  matchless  daring, 
he  became  the  idol  of  the  settlers.  Thenceforward  for 
forty-three  years  he  led  them  in  all  their  enterprises  and 
undertakings;  he  conducted  thirty-four  battles  against 
the  Indians  and  met  no  defeat;  he  participated  as  the  ani- 
mating spirit  in  one  great  expedition  against  the  British, 
with  overwhelming  success.  In  1772,  he  and  his  asso- 
ciates in  the  trans-mountain  settlements,  organized  the 
first  free  and  independent  government  on  this  continent, 
administering  the  laws  of  their  agreement  and  dealing 
justice  in  the  vast  region  across  the  Alleghenies. 

During  the  Revolutionary  War  many  times  he  broke 
up  the  plans  of  the  British  for  launching  the  savages 
upon  the  borders  and  thus  overwhelming  the  American 
colonists;  plans  which,  had  they  succeeded,  might  have 
been  as  fatal  to  American  hopes  of  independence  as 
would  have  been  the  success  of  Burgoyne's  expedition. 


68         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

He  and  his  men — Gilmore  felicitously  calls  them  "  The 
Rear  Guard  of  the  Revolution  " — kept  the  Indians  in 
check,  dauntlessly  interposing  their  scanty  numbers  be- 
tween the  fierce  warriors  and  the  unprotected  settlements 
on  the  hither  side  of  the  Alleghenies,  performing  service 
incalculable  thereby.  The  borders  were  free,  the  patri- 
ots could  leave  their  families  without  fear  of  savage  foray 
because  they  were  watched  over  by  Sevier  and  his  men. 
It  was  given  to  him  at  one  of  the  turning  points  of 
the  Revolution  to  inspire,  and  in  large  measure  to  strike 
the  blow  which  determined  that  the  south  land  should 
be  free. 

III.     The  State  of  Franklin  and  its  Governor 

After  the  Revolution,  under  Sevier's  leadership,  North 
Carolina  having  cast  them  off,  the  mountaineers  organ- 
ized within  the  limits  of  the  present  commonwealth  of 
Tennessee,  the  state  of  Franklin,*  named  for  the  wise 
old  philosopher,  and  Sevier  was  its  first  governor. 

He  administered  its  financial  affairs  with  a  currency  of 
coon  skins!  When  North  Carolina  withdrew  the  act  of 
cession,  by  which  she  had  turned  the  territory  over  to 
Congress  and  sought  to  assume  her  state  rights  again, 
Sevier  conducted  himself  in  the  trying  crisis  with  discre- 
tion and  firmness,  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  machina- 
tions of  some  bitter  enemies — this  is  the  penalty  of  great- 
ness, always  to  make  enemies — he  might  have  succeeded 
in  preserving  the  integrity  of  the  state  he  had  founded. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  North  Carolina,  which 
was  quick  to  follow  the  lead  of  her  southern  sisters  in 

*  Commonly  and  erroneously  called  the  state  of  Frankland,  i.  e. ,  land  of 
the  Franks  or  Freemen  ! 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  69 

seceding  from  the  Union  in  1861,  pointed  out  at  this 
ancient  date  that  if  different  communities  were  permit- 
ted to  withdraw  from  a  mother  state  and  organize  states 
of  their  own,  at  their  own  volition,  the  result  would  be 
the  disintegration  of  the  Republic.  North  Carolina  was 
right  in  this  instance,  and  Sevier  was  wrong  in  attempt- 
ing to  maintain  his  commonwealth. 

He  was  treacherously  betrayed,  captured,  and  after- 
ward tried  at  Morgantown,  North  Carolina,  for  high 
treason.  Fifteen  hundred  men  of  the  trans-Allegheny 
region,  assembled  to  take  him  back,  and  a  war  between 
the  sections  was  imminent.  Aided  by  some  of  his  old 
comrades  in  arms  he  made  a  romantic  escape  from  the 
custody  of  the  officers;  whereupon  the  people  of  the 
Watauga  district,  having  submitted  to  the  inevitable, 
promptly  elected  him  to  the  North  Carolina  legislature, 
in  which,  after  some  feeble  protests,  he  took  his  seat. 

When  the  state  ratified  the  constitution  and  became 
thereby  a  member  of  the  Federal  Union,  one  congress- 
man was  apportioned  to  the  district  across  the  Alle- 
ghenies.  Sevier  was  unanimously  elected  and  was  the 
first  man  to  sit  in  Congress  from  that  great  region  be- 
yond the  mountains. 

He  was  made  general  of  the  militia  when  Tennessee 
was  a  territory,  and  when  she  became  a  state  he  was 
chosen  governor  without  opposition.  For  three  succes- 
sive terms  he  was  elected,  and  then  being  ineligible  con- 
stitutionally, for  a  period  of  two  years,  he  was  thereafter 
elected  for  three  more  successive  terms,  after  which  he 
was  sent  back  to  Congress  and  thrice  re-elected ! 

He  died  in  harness  and  in  the  field,  in  1815,  in  a  tent 
on  a  surveying  expedition  for  the  government,  sur- 
rounded as  he  had  lived,  by  his  soldiers. 


yo        Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

He  lost  his  first  wife  in  1774  and  was  living  at  his 
home  on  the  Nolichucky,  from  which,  by  the  way,  he 
was  sometimes  called  in  border  parlance,  "  Nolichucky 
Jack,"  or  "  Chucky  Jack,"  in  1775,  when  the  Revolu- 
tionary War  broke  out.  One  of  the  first  of  the  British 
attempts  was  to  assemble  the  savages  on  the  Watauga 
frontier,  especially  in  the  southern  territory,  sweep  in- 
land and  ravage  the  settlements,  while  Sir  Peter  Parker 
and  his  fleet  attempted  to  capture  Charleston,  thus  plac- 
ing the  colonists  between  two  fires  and  making  their 
downfall  apparently  certain. 

Moultrie  and  his  little  handful  beat  off  Parker,  and 
Sevier  and  a  still  smaller  handful  broke  up  the  plan  in 
the  west  by  routing  the  Indians  in  a  brilliant  campaign 
terminating  in  the  siege  at  Fort  Lee,  a  rude  timber  en- 
closure which  had  been  erected  on  the  banks  of  the 
Watauga.  The  fort  was  closely  beleaguered  by  the  sav- 
ages for  some  forty  days  without  a  casualty  among  the 
defenders,  the  Indians  losing  so  severely  in  their  attacks 
that  old  Oconostota,  their  head  war  chief,  the  inveterate 
enemy  of  the  Americans  so  long  as  he  lived,  finally  with- 
drew his  force  in  dismay  and  abandoned  the  campaign. 

It  was  at  this  siege  that  there  occurred  a  romantic 
episode  in  the  life  of  the  young  woman  who  became  the 
second  wife  of  Sevier.  In  defiance  of  warnings  some  of 
the  people  of  the  fort,  irked  by  the  confinement,  had 
gone  beyond  the  limits  of  the  walls.  A  party  of  savages 
suddenly  appeared  and  attempted  their  capture.  The 
people  fled  to  gain  the  stockade,  which  was  crowded 
with  women  and  children. 

It  would  have  risked  everything  to  have  left  the  gate 
open,  indeed  there  was  no  time  for  it.  Sevier  sent  his 
men  to  the  walls  to  cover  the  escaping  fugitives  by  a 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  71 

smart  rifle  fire,  and  drive  back  the  Indians  till  the  set- 
tlers could  be  taken  in.  One  young  girl,  Katharine 
Sherrill,  in  her  terror  actually  leaped  to  the  top  of  the 
palisade  and  fell  over  the  wall  into  the  arms  of  the  com- 
mander. She  leaped  into  his  heart  at  the  same  time  and 
they  were  soon  married.  Bonny  Kate  is  reported  to 
have  said, 

"  I  would  take  a  leap  like  that  every  day  to  fall  into 
the  arms  of  a  man  like  my  gallant  husband." 

The  handsomest  man  in  Tennessee,  they  called  him, 
and  the  bravest  and  best;  tall,  just  under  six  feet,  blue- 
eyed,  sunny-haired,  graceful,  he  was  a  man  to  win  any 
woman's  heart,  and  his  qualities  were  equally  attractive 
to  men.  He  was  a  glutton  for  work,  a  giant  for  endur- 
ance, a  very  paladin  of  courage. 

After  twenty-eight  days  of  marching  and  fighting  in  the 
King's  Mountain  expedition,  with  scarcely  any  rest  he  set 
out  for  another  campaign  in  the  wilds  of  the  mountains 
against  the  restless  Cherokees.  Another  inveterate  ene- 
my of  the  white  settlers  was  the  chief  of  the  Chicka- 
maugas,  named  Dragging  Canoe.  When  the  British  at- 
tempted a  second  time  to  combine  the  savages  and  hurl 
them  upon  the  backs  of  the  colonists,  it  was  Sevier's 
brilliant  expedition  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country 
which  broke  the  spirit  of  the  Cherokees,  "  Sons  of  Fire," 
and  their  allies.  They  smouldered  thereafter  and  until 
the  state  of  Franklin  was  organized  gave  but  little 
trouble. 

Such  was  the  personal  courage  of  Sevier  that  in  this 
expedition  he  slew  Dragging  Canoe  with  his  own  hand, 
in  a  terrific  hand-to-hand  conflict.  In  thirty-four  en- 
counters with  the  Indians  he  was  invariably  successful. 

It  is  difficult  to  describe  any  of  these  actions.     They 


72         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

did  not  rise  to  the  dignity  of  pitched  battles,  but  gener- 
ally consisted  of  a  swift,  noiseless  approach,  a  surprise, 
a  wild  desperate  charge  upon  the  Indians,  driving  them 
into  headlong  rout,  a  destruction  of  their  villages  and 
crops  and  then  a  quick  withdrawal  to  the  settlements. 
Again  and  again  were  these  tactics  pursued. 

Sevier  had  many  qualities  of  Francis  Marion,  another 
great  American  of  French  descent,  who  fought  in  the 
Revolution.  Instead  of  the  slow,  stealthy  concealed  ad- 
vance, the  hidden  ambush,  which  the  Indians  made  use 
of,  Sevier  adopted  other  tactics  and  depended  upon 
audacity  and  speed.  The  Napoleonic  idea  of  the  value 
of  a  small  mobile  concentrated  body  hurled  swiftly  upon 
a  slow-moving  scattered  if  superior  force,  was  exempli- 
fied in  his  attempts  before  the  Corsican  was  born.  It 
was  exemplified  nowhere  so  strikingly  as  in  that  most 
remarkable  battle  of  King's  Mountain,  which,  for  origi- 
nality of  conception,  boldness  of  execution,  success  in 
completion,  stands  among  the  most  picturesque  battles 
of  the  world;  and  with  the  story  of  that  battle  in  which 
he  won  so  many  of  his  laurels,  we  will  leave  the  old  hero. 

IV.     The  Assembling  of  the  Mountaineers 

One  of  the  most  distinguished  officers  of  the  king  in 
America  during  the  Revolution  was  Major  Patrick  Fer- 
guson of  the  Seventy-first  Foot,  the  Royal  Americans. 
He  was  a  brother  of  Adam  Ferguson,  the  celebrated 
Scottish  philosopher,  and  in  his  own  way  quite  as  gifted. 
To  a  reputation  for  bravery  earned  in  Europe,  he  had 
added  new  laurels,  notably  at  the  Brandywine,  receiving 
there  a  wound  which  permanently  deprived  him  of  the 
full  use  of  an  arm  thereafter,  and  at  the  battle  of  Camden, 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  73 

where  the  Seventy-first  under  his  leadership,  displayed 
such  splendid  courage  and  where  he  was  again  wounded. 

He  was  a  man  of  an  ingenious  turn  of  mind  and  had 
invented  a  breech-loading  rifle,  in  the  use  of  which  he 
became  very  expert.  Upon  one  occasion  it  is  claimed 
that  he  had  a  reconnoitring  party  of  Americans  headed 
by  a  general  officer  within  range  of  his  rifle,  and  that 
from  motives  of  humanity  he  refrained  from  killing  the 
unsuspecting  officer,  which  he  could  easily  have  done. 
He  afterward  learned  that  the  man  he  had  spared  was 
George  Washington. 

For  a  time,  after  the  overwhelming  and  disgraceful 
defeat  of  Gates  at  Camden,  South  Carolina,  August  16, 
1780,  Cornwallis  virtually  had  the  whole  south  at  his 
mercy.  He  moved  slowly  northward  with  the  main 
body  of  his  army,  sending  out  columns  on  either  flank, 
and  in  all  directions  in  fact,  endeavoring  to  occupy  and 
pacify  the  country  he  fondly  considered  permanently 
subdued. 

To  Ferguson  was  given  command  of  the  various  oper- 
ations upon  the  left  of  the  main  advance.  To  him  were 
assigned  one  hundred  and  twenty  of  his  own  regular 
regiment,  and  he  was  given  power  to  embody  and  take 
command  of  all  the  Tory  volunteers  he  could  win  to  his 
following. 

The  Carolinas,  be  it  remembered,  with  the  exception 
of  New  Jersey — and  New  York  in  part — were  the  only 
states  which  were  entirely  swept  from  border  to  border 
by  the  besom  of  war.  There  was  scarcely  a  nook  or  a 
corner  in  either  one  in  which  the  rifle  shot  was  not  heard, 
the  torch  was  not  lighted,  in  which  the  passions  of  Hell 
were  not  let  loose.  The  rancorous  hatreds  of  civil  strife 
in  no  section  were  more  in  evidence  than  in  these  two 


74         Border   Fights  and  Fighters 

brave  little  southern  colonies.  Even  the  animosities  en- 
gendered in  central  New  York  between  the  Whigs  and 
Tories  were  not  so  persistent,  so  rigorous,  so  bitter,  or 
so  desolating  in  their  effects. 

Cornwallis  soon  awoke  from  his  dream;  for,  while 
partisan  bands  sprang  up  on  either  side  and  attacked  each 
other  without  mercy,  success  generally  inclined  to  the 
Americans.  The  British  found  they  could  only  hold  the 
ground  occupied  by  their  armies.  In  their  exasperation, 
they  and  the  Tories  resorted  to  ferocious  cruelties,  which 
were  promptly  met  by  reprisals  in  kind.  Many  of  Corn- 
wallis' parties  and  bodies  of  Tories  were  cut  off  without 
mercy.  In  fact,  except  under  Cruger,  Tarleton,  and 
Ferguson,  the  British  were  defeated  again  and  again 
by  Sumter,  Marion,  Pickens,  Davie,  McDowell,  and 
Williams. 

Ferguson  had  experienced  some  reverses,  but  on  the 
whole  had  been  very  successful.  He  succeeded  in  em- 
bodying some  two  thousand  Tories,  whom  he  organized 
into  regiments,  which  he  trained  and  drilled  in  British 
tactics  with  energy  and  success. 

He  had  been  brought  in  contact  with  a  few  of  the 
trans-Allegheny  men,  the  first  settlers  of  Virginia  west 
of  the  mountains  and  the  pioneers  of  Tennessee;  the 
"  Back  Water  Men,"  he  called  them  on  several  occa- 
sions and  knew  their  quality,  especially  from  one  bloody 
skirmish  at  Musgrove's  Mills.  Seeking  to  keep  them 
quiet  he  released  a  prisoner  and  sent  him  across  the  range 
to  inform  the  people  there  that  if  they  did  not  "  desist 
from  their  opposition  to  British  arms,  he  would  march 
his  army  across  the  mountains,  hang  the  leaders,  and  lay 
the  country  waste  with  fire  and  sword." 

In  Ferguson's  army,  which  was  then  about  sixty  miles 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  75 

from  the  Watauga,  where  was  the  principal  settlement 
in  East  Tennessee,  were  several  Tories,  who  had  been 
expelled  from  the  mountain  region  and  who  were  thor- 
oughly conversant  with  the  passes  through  the  moun- 
tains. It  was  possible  for  him  to  have  made  the  attempt, 
although  it  is  extremely  doubtful  that  he  ever  had  the 
slightest  idea  of  doing  so;  for,  as  he  well  knew,  his 
chances  of  success  would  have  been  of  the  very  smallest. 
It  is  probable  that  the  threat  was  merely  intended  to 
frighten  the  mountaineers  into  keeping  quiet.  They 
were  not  the  kind  to  be  frightened  by  idle  threats,  and 
Ferguson  was  to  learn  that  it  was  a  dangerous  thing  to 
threaten  to  do  the  impossible,  or  at  least  he  would  have 
learned  it  if  the  mountaineers  had  not  killed  him  trying 
to  teach  him  the  lesson. 

"  Never  was  threat  so  impotent,  and  yet  so  powerful." 
Ferguson's  messenger  went  first  to  Shelby,  who  acted 
with  instant  promptitude.  Sixty  miles  to  the  south  was 
the  residence  of  Sevier  on  the  Nolichucky.  Throwing 
himself  upon  his  horse,  Shelby  tore  down  the  valley  to 
apprize  his  friend  and  colleague  of  the  news  and  to  con- 
cert as  to  the  best  course  of  action. 

The  "  tall  Watauga  boys,"  as  they  were  called,  were 
having  a  jollification  at  the  time  at  Sevier's;  oxen  were 
being  roasted  for  a  barbecue,  horse-racing  was  going  on, 
and  rustic  sports  were  being  enjoyed.  Sevier  was  keep- 
ing open  house  to  all  comers.  One  authority  says  that 
the  occasion  was  the  marriage  of  the  great  pioneer  to 
the  girl  of  the  stockade  episode,  but  other  investigators 
claim  that  the  marriage  occurred  in  the  stockade  during 
the  siege,  or  shortly  after,  and  it  is  probable  that  this 
was  a  rustic  gathering  to  celebrate  the  garnering  of  the 
harvest.  But  from  whatever  cause,  a  great  many  of  the 


76         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

inhabitants,  men,  women,  and  children,  were  assembled 
there  having  a  good  time,  when  Shelby  dashed  up  on 
his  sweat-lathered  horse  and  stopped  the  merriment  in- 
stantly by  the  sight  of  his  grim,  anxious,  and  troubled 
face. 

The  two  leaders  retired  at  once  for  consultation,  while 
the  people  suspended  their  sports  and  with  deepening 
anxiety  awaited  the  results  of  the  deliberation.  What 
was  to  be  done?  Should  they  bid  defiance  to  Ferguson, 
occupy  the  mountain  passes,  and  await  attack  there? 
This  was  believed  to  be  Shelby's  idea.  Sevier  was  more 
audacious.  They  should  not  wait  to  be  attacked,  they 
should  assemble  the  men,  cross  the  range  and  fall  upon 
the  unsuspecting  partisan  before  he  realized  that  they 
had  more  than  received  his  message.  His  bold  counsels 
prevailed.  The  news  was  immediately  circulated,  and 
the  men  and  women  assembled  for  the  merrymaking 
received  the  decision  with  shouts  of  approval.  A  ren- 
dezvous was  appointed  at  Sycamore  Shoals  on  the  Wa- 
tauga,  on  the  25th  of  September. 

Taking  a  fresh  horse  Shelby  rode  north  to  enlist  for 
the  enterprise  Campbell  and  his  Virginians,  settled  about 
the  head  waters  of  the  Holston.  Sevier  sent  messengers 
to  McDowell,  who,  with  a  small  band  of  North  Carolin- 
ians, had  been  chased  over  the  mountains  by  Ferguson. 
Sevier  was  to  assemble  the  Watauga  men  as  well. 

Campbell  at  first  refused  to  participate  in  the  expedi- 
tion, but  upon  being  further  approached  by  argument 
and  appeal,  finally  consented.  Expresses  were  de- 
spatched over  the  mountains  and  one  of  the  most  cele- 
brated partisans  of  North  Carolina,  Colonel  Benjamin 
Cleaveland,  promised  to  join  the  assemblage  with  such 
men  as  he  could  secure.  On  the  25th  of  September, 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  77 

Campbell,  Shelby,  and  Sevier,  reached  the  rendezvous 
at  the  appointed  time. 

The  situation  was  peculiar.  On  one  side  of  the  little 
settlement  were  hordes  of  savages  who  had  only  been 
kept  in  check  by  severe  campaigning  and  constant  watch- 
fulness, and  who  wanted  but  an  opportunity  to  fall  upon 
the  settlements.  On  the  other  side,  with  the  mountains 
between,  were  over  two  thousand  well-trained  British 
troops,  under  a  veteran  officer.  Yet  so  eager  were  the 
men  to  go  on  the  expedition  that  they  resorted  to  a  draft 
to  see  who  should  stay  behind  to  protect  the  women 
and  children  from  the  red  peril  so  dangerously  near. 

Four  hundred  and  eighty  of  the  Watauga  men  were 
selected  and  divided  into  two  regiments,  commanded 
by  Sevier  and  Shelby.  In  Sevier's  regiment  were  no  less 
than  six  persons  who  bore  his  name,  including  his  two 
sons.  Two  of  his  brothers  were  captains.  The  Wa- 
tauga boys  were  joined  by  one  hundred  and  sixty  of 
McDowell's  men  and  two  hundred  Back  Water  Presby- 
terians under  stout  old  William  Campbell,  presently  re- 
enforced  by  two  hundred  more  of  the  same  sort  under 
Arthur  Campb.ell,  his  brother. 

The  assemblage,  though  small,  was  remarkable  for  its 
quality;  tall,  sinewy,  powerful,  brave,  dead  shots,  accus- 
tomed to  the  fatigues  and  hardships  of  frontier  life,  it 
would  be  hard  to  match  this  body  of  borderers  on  the 
continent.  The  little  army  was  without  baggage,  with- 
out equipment,  without  provisions,  without  everything 
but  arms.  Most  of  the  men  had  no  horses,  although 
all  were  provided  with  the  Deckhard  rifle,  a  piece  re- 
markable in  that  day  for  the  precision  of  its  shot  and 
the  length  of  its  range. 

Sevier  and   Shelby  had  long  since   exhausted  their 


78        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

private  resources,  and  they  were  hard  put  to  know  where 
to  find  money  to  buy  horses  and  equipments  for  those 
who  were  without  them,  for  they  had  determined  that 
the  expedition  should  consist  only  of  mounted  riflemen. 
There  was  one  officer  of  North  Carolina,  however,  on 
their  side  of  the  mountains,  who  had  money.  This  was 
John  Adair,  the  entry  taker,  whose  business  it  was  to 
receive  the  payments  of  the  settlers  for  the  land  which 
they  took  up. 

Sevier  and  Shelby  went  to  him  and  asked  him  for  the 
money  in  his  hands,  some  twelve  thousand  dollars, 
pledging  their  personal  honor  and  credit  that  thereafter 
he  should  be  paid  back  every  farthing — a  pledge  they 
scrupulously  redeemed.  Adair  rose  to  the  measure  of 
the  situation  with  true  patriotism,  as  may  be  seen  by 
his  splendid  answer  to  the  demand. 

"  Colonel  Sevier,"  he  said,  "  I  have  no  right  to  make 
any  such  disposition  of  this  money;  it  belongs  to  the 
impoverished  treasury  of  North  Carolina.  But,  if  the 
country  is  overrun  by  the  British,  liberty  is  gone.  Let 
the  money  go  too.  Take  it.  If  by  its  use  the  enemy 
is  driven  from  the  country,  I  can  trust  that  country  to 
justify  and  vindicate  my  conduct.  Take  it !  " 

With  this  money  the  men  were  promptly  provided 
with  horses  and  powder.  Even  the  women  entered  into 
the  spirit  of  the  occasion,  and  it  is  related  that  some  of 
the  powder  which  was  afterward  used  with  such  deadly 
effect  was  made  by  their  assistance,  for  they  burned  the 
charcoal  on  the  family  hearthstones. 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  79 


V.     The  Dash  to  Catch  Ferguson 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  26th  of  September  was 
the  hour  appointed  for  the  march.  Old  Parson  Doak, 
stern  Presbyterian,  black-gowned,  stood  in  the  midst  of 
the  one  thousand  rugged  riflemen  in  their  hunting  shirts, 
who  doffed  their  coon-skin  caps,  or  buck-tail  hats,  and 
ringed  themselves  about  him,  leaning  upon  their  arms, 
while  he  invoked  the  Divine  blessing  upon  the  expedi- 
tion, bidding  them  to  go  forth  and  strike  with  the  sword 
of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon.  After  this  impressive  cere- 
mony, the  men,  speeded  by  the  cheers  of  those  unwill- 
ingly left  behind,  and  followed  by  the  prayers  of  the 
women,  immediately  took  up  the  march.  With  them, 
rifle  in  hand,  went  another  clergyman,  the  Reverend 
Stephen  Foster. 

Being  well  mounted,  they  made  great  progress.  Un- 
encumbered by  baggage  train  of  any  sort,  they  were  able 
to  take  short  cuts  and  traverse  apparently  impracticable 
paths  over  the  range,  which  they  found  covered  with 
deep  snow.  There  was  no  commissariat,  a  few  beeves 
were  driven  on  the  march  and  slaughtered  for  the  first 
day's  rations,  but  the  men  depended  upon  what  they 
could  pick  up  on  the  way,  or  shoot  with  the  rifle,  to 
eke  out  the  supply  of  parched  corn  which  every  man 
carried  for  himself.  It  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the 
west  was  won  by  parched  corn  and  the  powder  horn. 

They  marched  with  great  swiftness  for  several  days, 
being  joined  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  by  Cleaveland, 
a  redoubtable,  if  merciless  and  ferocious  fighter,  with 
three  hundred  and  fifty  men  from  Wilkes  and  Surrey 
Counties,  on  the  3Oth  of  September.  On  Monday,  the 


8o        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

ist  of  October,  they  marched  eighteen  miles,  but  were 
stopped  by  the  rain.  On  the  2d  they  determined  to 
select  one  of  the  various  colonels  who  should  command 
the  expedition,  pending  the  arrival  of  an  officer  of  rank. 

Choice  fell  upon  William  Campbell  of  Virginia,  who 
had  the  largest  regiment.  McDowell  of  North  Carolina, 
who  was  senior,  had  the  smallest  regiment,  and  was  not 
thought  sufficiently  vigorous  for  such  an  undertaking. 
He  relieved  the  dilemma  regarding  him,  by  volunteering 
to  ride  express  to  General  Gates  and  ask  him  to  send 
an  officer  of  merit  to  take  charge.  Campbell  hesitated 
to  assume  the  command,  and  earnestly  urged  Sevier, 
Shelby,  or  other  officers  to  take  it,  but  they  insisted  that 
he  should  undertake  the  duty  which  they  had  devolved 
upon  him,  and  at  last  he  consented. 

On  the  3rd  of  October,  while  still  in  the  gap  at  South 
Mountain,  before  the  march  was  taken  up,  Cleaveland, 
who  seems  to  have  been  the  orator  of  the  assemblage, 
addressed  the  men  in  the  following  terms: 

"  Now,  my  brave  fellows,  I  have  come  to  tell  you  the 
news.  The  enemy  is  at  hand,  and  we  must  up  and  at 
them.  Now  is  the  time  for  every  man  of  you  to  do  his 
country  a  priceless  service — such  as  shall  lead  your  chil- 
dren to  exult  in  the  fact  that  their  fathers  were  the  con- 
querors of  Ferguson.  When  the  pinch  comes  I  shall  be 
with  you.  But  if  any  of  you  shrink  from  sharing  the 
battle  and  glory,  you  can  now  have  the  opportunity  of 
backing  out  and  leaving,  and  you  shall  have  a  few  min- 
utes for  considering  the  matter." 

Other  colonels  in  brief,  terse  words  seconded  old 
Cleaveland,  and  then  requested  those  who  desired  to 
retire  from  the  proposed  expedition  to  step  three  paces 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  81 

to  the  rear.  No  one  did  so,  of  course.  Ferguson  was 
believed  to  be  in  the  vicinity  of  Gilbert  Town.  They 
proceeded  cautiously,  therefore,  to  that  point,  and  the 
next  day  learned  that  he  had  retreated  and  that  he  was 
thought  to  have  gone  southward  to  Ninety  Six. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Beattie's  Ford  on  the  Catawba, 
thirty  miles  away,  were  a  body  of  Sumter's  men  under 
Colonels  Hill,  who  was  too  badly  wounded  to  take  part 
in  the  campaign,  and  Lacey,  and  a  small  party  of  South 
Carolinians  under  Williams,  altogether  about  four  hun- 
dred in  number.  Williams  had  been  appointed  to  com- 
mand the  militia,  and  Sumter  had  disputed  his  right. 
Pending  the  settlement  of  the  question,  Sumter  had 
withdrawn  from  his  troops,  otherwise  he  would  have  ex- 
ercised chief  command  in  the  battle  that  was  to  follow. 
Williams,  however,  had  remained  in  the  neighborhood; 
although  Sumter's  troops  had  refused  to  acknowledge 
him,  he  had  gathered  a  small  body  of  his  own. 

When  this  assemblage  heard  these  mountain  men  had 
come  for  the  purpose  of  taking  Ferguson,  Colonel  Lacey 
made  an  all-night  ride  through  the  wilderness  to  Camp- 
bell's camp,  on  the  Green  River,  which  he  reached  an 
hour  or  so  before  daybreak,  offering  to  co-operate  with 
them  and  informing  the  mountaineers  that  Ferguson  had 
not  gone  to  Ninety  Six,  but  was  marching  toward  King's 
Mountain.  They  believed  at  first  that  Lacey  was  a  Tory 
spy,  but  he  finally  persuaded  them  of  his  integrity,  and 
they  agreed  to  meet  his  party  at  the  Cowpens,  south 
of  the  Broad,  soon  to  be  the  scene  of  another  famous 
victory,  the  next  evening,  the  6th  of  October.  Selecting 
some  seven  hundred  of  the  best  men,  the  mountaineers 
at  once  set  out,  leaving  the  rest  to  follow  as  fast  as 
possible. 

6 


82         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

With  scarcely  an  hour's  sleep,  Lacey  mounted  his 
horse  and  returned  to  his  men,  reaching  them  about  ten 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  having  ridden  sixty  miles  in 
fourteen  hours.  On  the  appointed  evening  the  whole 
party,  now  amounting  to  some  eleven  hundred  men, 
rendezvoused  at  the  Cowpens.  The  indomitable  Lacey 
had  succeeded  in  getting  his  men  there  at  the  hour 
agreed  upon.  Before  they  took  up  their  march  again 
they  carefully  selected,  by  a  second  weeding  out,  nine 
hundred  and  ten  of  the  most  efficient  with  the  freshest 
horses,  with  whom  they  determined  to  push  on  to  meet 
Ferguson.*  Fifty  foot  soldiers  resolved  to  keep  up  with 
the  horsemen  if  possible. 

Sure  intelligence  had  been  received  that  Ferguson  had 
halted  on  King's  Mountain.  This  is  a  low  spur  of  the 
Alleghenies,  sixteen  miles  long,  running  northeast  and 
southwest.  Ferguson  was  encamped  on  the  southern 
end  of  it  in  York  County,  South  Carolina,  a  mile  and  a 
half  from  the  border.  He  had  sent  despatches  to  Corn- 
wallis,  whom  he  had  been  endeavoring  to  join,  urging 
him  to  send  Tarleton  to  escort  him  over  the  thirty  miles 
of  rough  broken  country  between  his  army  and  Char- 
lotte, his  lordship's  head-quarters,  for  he  had  been  ap- 
prised by  two  deserters  of  the  storm  that  was  gathering 
on  his  heels. 

*  This  number  was  made  up,  according  to  McCrady,  as  follows :  Camp- 
bell, 200;  Sevier,  120;  Shelby,  120;  Cleaveland,  no;  McDowell,  a 
brother  of  the  officer  who  had  gone  to  seek  Gates,  90 ;  and  Winston,  a 
subordinate  to  Cleaveland,  60  ;  making  seven  hundred  chosen  at  Green 
River.  Additional  troops  were  selected  at  the  Cowpens,  as  follows  :  Lacey, 
loo;  Williams,  60,  and  Graham  and  Ham  bright,  50,  making  2 10:  total,  910. 
200  of  these  were  Virginians,  510  were  from  North  and  200  from  South 
Carolina.  The  foot  soldiers  mentioned  did  not  arrive  until  the  close  of  the 
action,  so  they  are  not  counted.  The  rest  were  to  follow  as  fast  as  they 
could. 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee   83 

Not  that  he  had  any  fear  of  being  able  to  defend  his 
present  position,  for  he  considered  his  force  entirely  ad- 
equate to  hold  it  forever,  although  not  sufficiently  strong 
to  take  the  offensive.  The  affair  at  Musgrove's  Mills 
had  given  his  troops,  if  not  himself,  a  healthy  respect  for 
the  mountaineers.  Unfortunately  for  him,  some  of  his 
messengers  were  captured,  and  others  were  forced  by  the 
dangers  of  the  way  to  take  such  circuitous  routes  that 
they  did  not  reach  Cornwallis  until  the  battle  was  over. 

Ferguson  had  chosen  the  position  from  the  point  of 
view  of  the  European  soldier,  with  much  skill.  Profes- 
sional soldiers  have  called  it  admirable  for  defence.  He 
is  alleged  to  have  said,  in  various  profane  ways,  that  he 
could  hold  his  post  against  any  force  that  might  be 
brought  against  him. 

A  great  deal  of  unscientific  criticism  has  been  heaped 
upon  him  for  this  choice  of  position.  To  be  sure  he 
did  not  hold  it  against  an  inferior  force,  which  seems  to 
bear  out  the  censures;  but  that  force  was  unique  in  com- 
position and  its  attack  was  an  unusual  one,  which  no 
theoretical  experience  could  have  led  Ferguson  to  ex- 
pect. He  could  probably  have  held  the  place  success- 
fully against  regular  soldiers  without  difficulty.  But  the 
men  who  were  after  him  were  not  regular  troops.  They 
knew  nothing  of  the  school  of  the  soldier  and  cared  less; 
their  character  was  peculiar  and  their  tactics  in  accord- 
ance. 

VI.     King's  Mountain  ;   Launching  the  Thunderbolt 

About  nine  o'clock  on  the  night  of  the  6th,  the  army 
set  forth  from  the  Cowpens  for  King's  Mountain,  some 
thirty-three  miles  away.  It  was  pitch  dark  and  to  add 


84        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

to  their  difficulties  and  discomforts  a  chill  rain  came 
driving  upon  them  for  a  large  part  of  the  night.  To 
keep  their  muskets  dry  the  men  were  forced  to  take  off 
their  blankets  and  shirts  and  wrap  them  around  the  gun- 
locks.  Chilled  to  the  bone  they  urged  their  jaded  steeds 
through  the  clogging  mud  and  cold  driving  rain  of  the 
furious  storm  during  the  long  night. 

When  day  broke  they  reached  the  Catawba  at  Chero- 
kee Ford,  crossed  it,  still  in  the  pelting  rain,  and  plodded 
on.  Some  chroniclers  aver,  that,  oppressed  by  their 
long,  hard  march,  the  slow  progress  they  had  made,  the 
worn-out  condition  of  the  men,  some  of  the  officers  sug- 
gested that  they  give  over  the  attempt  and  return. 
Shelby,  marching  in  the  van,  curtly  replied, 

"  I  will  not  stop  until  night  if  I  follow  Ferguson  into 
Cornwallis'  lines !  " 

So  they  pushed  resolutely  on.  It  continued  to  rain 
harder  than  ever  during  the  morning  until  noon,  when 
the  storm  broke  and  the  sun  came  out  with  a  fine  breeze, 
to  the  great  refreshment  of  the  army.  Spies  and  scouts 
sent  on  ahead  confirmed  the  truth  of  their  impression 
that  Ferguson  was  on  King's  Mountain.  At  one  Tory 
farm-house,  from  which  they  could  get  no  information, 
one  of  the  women  came  out  secretly  and  ran  across  the 
fields  until  she  intercepted  the  American  advance. 

"  How  many  men  have  you?  "  she  cried. 

"  Enough  to  whip  Ferguson  if  we  can  find  him,"  was 
the  reply. 

"  You  will  find  him  on  that  mountain  yonder,"  she 
said,  pointing  to  the  hill  three  miles  away. 

It  was  two  o'clock  when  the  army  reached  the  vicinity 
of  the  mountain  after  their  eighteen-hour  struggle  in  the 
dreadful  storm.  Hard  on  their  heels  followed  the  de- 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  85 

voted  fifty  foot,  who  had  made  an  unparalleled 
march. 

The  portion  of  King's  Mountain  upon  which  the  bat- 
tle occurred  is  an  isolated  hill  some  six  hundred  yards 
long,  about  one  hundred  feet  high,  and  varying  in  width 
from  sixty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  across.  It 
is  a  long  stone-crested  ridge,  the  sides  covered  with  trees, 
the  top  bare  and  desolate.  The  rocks  around  the  edge 
of  the  crest  formed  a  natural  breastwork.  The  narrowest 
part  of  the  hill  was  toward  the  south.  At  this  narrow 
end  of  the  ridge  a  man  standing  could  be  seen  from  the 
foot  of  either  slope.  Ferguson's  camp  was  pitched  near 
the  northern  end,  and  except  for  the  natural  cover 
afforded  by  the  rocks  and  bowlders,  had  no  other  pro- 
tection. The  baggage-wagons  were  parked  along  the 
northeastern,  the  most  exposed  edge,  near  the  widest 
part. 

Ferguson  had  with  him  one  hundred  and  twenty  of 
the  Seventy-first  regulars,  and  some  eight  hundred  Tory 
militia,  about  equally  divided  between  the  two  Carolinas. 
He  had  had  this  militia  under  his  command  for  some  time 
and  had  drilled  and  exercised  them  with  unfailing  zeal 
and  success  until  he  rated  them  equal  to  British  regular 
soldiery.  His  own  troops,  of  course,  were  provided 
with  bayonets,  and  he  caused  the  hunting  knives  of  the 
Tories  so  to  be  arranged  that  they  could  be  fitted  into 
the  muzzles  of  the  guns;  thus  the  militia  contingent  was 
supplied  with  a  formidable  weapon  for  close  quarters. 
His  main  reliance  was  upon  the  bayonet,  therefore. 
There  were  no  bayonets  of  any  sort  in  the  American 
army,  and  it  was  to  be  rifle  bullet  against  cold  steel. 

The  second  in  command  on  the  mountain  was  Cap- 
tain de  Peyster  of  New  York,  a  brave,  efficient  officer. 
It  is  interesting  to  note  that,  with  the  exception  of  Fer- 


86 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 


guson  himself,  there  were  probably  no  men  of  British 
birth  in  either  of  the  two  contending  armies. 

Riding  as  near  the  hill  as  they  dared  without  being 
discovered,  the  men  dismounted,  with  the  exception  of 
a  few  of  the  ranking  officers,  and  were  formed  up  in  four 


©  FERGUSON'S  HEADQUARTERS. 
.+  PLACE  WMEMC  FERGUSON  WA&KILLID. 

H     PLACE  WHERE  HOUSE*  WCME  LEFT, 


Plan  of  Battle  of  King's  Mountain. 

divisions;  Campbell  taking  the  command  of  the  right 
centre  division;  Shelby  the  left  centre;  Sevier,  with 
McDowell's  and  some  of  Winston's  men  under  him,  led 
the  right  wing;  while  Cleaveland  with  Williams,  Lacey, 
and  the  others  took  charge  of  the  left  wing. 

A  party  of  horse  under  Major  Winston  who  knew  the 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  87 

field  of  battle,  were  ordered  to  make  a  long  detour  and 
approach  the  mountain  from  the  northern  end.  Camp- 
bell and  Shelby  were  to  attack  the  right  and  left  sides 
of  the  mountain  at  the  narrow  lower  end,  Sevier  and 
Cleaveland  were  to  defile  past  them  and  range  along  the 
east  and  west  sides  respectively,  while  Winston  closed 
the  remaining  gap.  The  attack  was  delivered  about 
three  o'clock.  The  rallying  word  was  "  Buford,"  the 
name  of  the  commander  whom  Tarleton  had  treacher- 
ously killed  in  the  massacre  at  Waxhaws. 

It  was  not  until  fifteen  minutes  before  the  battle  be- 
gan that  Ferguson  became  aware  of  the  threatened  dan- 
ger. Instantly  his  men  were  called  to  arms.  Shelby 
and  Campbell,  having  the  shortest  distance  to  go,  were 
the  first  to  engage  the  enemy.  The  honor  of  beginning 
the  battle  must  be  given  to  Campbell.  The  stout  old 
Presbyterian,  stripped  to  his  shirt  sleeves,  led  the  Vir- 
ginians up  the  hill,  waving  an  old  claymore,  a  weapon 
of  his  Scottish  ancestors,  shouting, 

"  Here  they  are,  my  brave  boys !  Shout  like  Hell  and 
fight  like  devils !  " 

Yelling  and  firing  rapidly  they  swarmed  up  the  hill. 
When  de  Peyster  heard  these  deafening  yells,  which  he 
remembered  from  the  disastrous  fight  at  Musgrove's 
Mills,  he  turned  to  Ferguson  saying, 

"These  things  are  ominous;  these  are  the  d d 

yelling  boys !  " 

The  Englishman  was  not  daunted  by  the  yelling,  how- 
ever. Throwing  his  regulars  upon  them  in  a  fierce  bay- 
onet charge,  Ferguson  drove  them  down  the  slope. 
Meanwhile  Shelby  had  sustained  a  severe  fire  while  get- 
ting into  position  and  had  hard  work  restraining  the  fire 
of  his  men;  at  last  yelling, 


88        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

"  Give  them  Indian  play,  boys !  "  he  rode  up  the  other 
slope  at  their  head. 

A  similar  bayonet  charge  by  de  Peyster  and  the  Tories 
repulsed  their  attack.  The  men  gave  back  so  reluc- 
tantly, however,  that  several  of  them  were  bayoneted  as 
they  retreated.  Flushed  with  victory  for  the  moment, 
Ferguson's  enthusiasm  was  rudely  dispelled  by  the 
crackling  of  muskets  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  moun- 
tain. 

Yelling  like  fiends,  Sevier's  men  breasted  the  slope 
of  the  hill.  Indeed,  it  is  said  that  the  so-called  "  rebel 
yell,"  which  was  heard  on  so  many  battle-fields  in  the 
next  century,  had  its  origin  in  this  body  of  mountaineers 
led  by  Sevier.  Galloping  to  the  threatened  point,  Fer- 
guson threw  some  of  his  men  upon  the  Watauga  boys. 
The  ground  here  was  more  broken,  and  the  same  rocks 
which  served  for  the  British  ramparts  played  a  like  pur- 
pose for  the  Americans.  Sevier  could  not  be  driven 
away.  He  established  himself  on  the  crest  of  the  hill 
behind  the  rocks,  pouring  in  a  deadly  fire. 

At  the  same  instant  Colonel  Cleaveland  came  into 
action.  He  was  a  great  speech-maker,  this  Cleaveland, 
and  as  his  soldiers  raced  along  the  base  of  the  hill  to 
get  to  the  position  from  which  they  were  to  make  the 
ascent,  he  is  said  to  have  made  the  following  speech  in 
broken  sentences: 

"  My  brave  fellows,  we  have  beaten  the  Tories,  and 
we  can  beat  them  again.  .  .  .  They  are  all  cowards. 
If  they  had  the  spirit  of  men,  they  would  join  us  in 
supporting  the  independence  of  the  country.  .  .  . 
When  you  are  engaged,  do  not  wait  for  the  word  of 
command.  I  will  show  you  by  my  example  how  to 
fight.  I  can  undertake  no  more.  .  .  .  Every  man 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  89 

must  act  on  his  own  judgment.  Fire  as  fast  as  you  can, 
and  stand  your  ground  as  long  as  you  can.  .  .  . 
When  you  can  do  no  better,  get  behind  trees,  or  retreat ; 
but  I  beg  you  not  to  run  off."  Then  pointing  to  the 
crest  of  the  hill  from  which  a  deadly  fire  was  plunging, 
he  cried,  "  Yonder  is  your  enemy,  and  the  enemy  of 
mankind!  " 

At  the  same  instant  Colonel  Hambright  with  his  brave 
Germans,  and  Majors  Winston  and  Chronicle  of  the  Car- 
olinians, closed  the  gap.  Williams,  who  had  sulked  be- 
cause he  had  not  been  recognized  or  consulted  by  the 
other  officers,  could  stand  it  no  longer. 

"  Come  up,  boys !  "  he  shouted,  "  the  old  wagoner 
never  yet  backed  out !  "  and  he  rushed  into  action  to  the 
right  of  Cleaveland. 

The  mountain  was  now  completely  encircled.  Sevier 
had  gained  the  summit  and  was  clinging  to  it  with  grim 
tenacity.  As  Ferguson  withdrew  his  troops  from  the 
southern  end,  Campbell  and  Shelby  immediately  turned 
and  followed  them  up  the  hill.  Both  sides  fought  well. 
Three  times  did  the  British  and  Tories  throw  themselves 
upon  the  approaching  Americans.  Three  times  did  the 
deadly  bayonet  do  its  work,  but  they  could  not  drive 
the  men  from  the  fight  further  than  they  could  continue 
the  charge.  They  always  came  back.  Campbell  had 
two  horses  shot  under  him.  Shelby's  face  had  been 
burned  by  powder,  so  close  had  been  the  action. 

The  mountain  was  ringed  with  fire  and  covered  with 
smoke.  The  roar  of  the  rifles  and  muskets  could  be 
heard  for  miles.  Ferguson  showed  himself  a  very  pala- 
din of  courage.  Mounted  on  a  white  horse  he  rode  fran- 
tically up  and  down  the  plateau,  rallying  his  men,  launch- 
ing charge  after  charge  upon  whatever  part  of  the  line 


90        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

ventured  to  expose  itself  on  the  crest.  The  bulk  of 
these  charges  fell  upon  the  regiments  of  Shelby  and 
Campbell,  but  the  beleaguered  force  struck  out  desper- 
ately on  every  hand.  Finally  a  last  charge  furiously 
hurled  upon  the  Virginians,  coupled  with  shouts  that 
Tarleton  was  at  hand,  put  the  regiment  to  flight.  Im- 
ploring, protesting,  swearing,  the  brave  commander  es- 
sayed to  stop  the  retreat  of  his  men,  but  it  was  not 
until  they  had  been  driven  some  distance  from  the  foot 
of  the  hill  that  he  could  get  them  in  order  again  to  lead 
them  back. 

Meanwhile  Sevier  led  his  men  from  the  crest  of  the  hill 
and  dashed  at  the  British  in  the  open.  At  the  same  in- 
stant a  simultaneous  advance  all  along  the  lines  drove 
the  British  back  in  every  direction.  The  Virginians 
rallied  and  came  fiercely  up  again.  The  British  fell  in 
scores. 

Some  one  raised  a  white  flag.  Ferguson  instantly 
ordered  it  down,  swearing  that  he  would  "  never  surren- 
der to  such  a  d d  set  of  banditti !  "  Blowing  the 

silver  whistle  which  had  rung  over  the  field  and  by  which 
he  had  given  his  commands,  he  rallied  his  forces  for  an- 
other final  charge.  De  Peyster  led  it  with  the  remnant 
of  the  regulars,  but  before  they  came  in  contact  with  the 
mountaineers,  their  deadly  discharge  reduced  his  line  to 
twelve  people.  Another  flag  was  raised  and  this  time 
Ferguson  cut  it  down. 

But  the  day  was  lost.  De  Peyster  realized  it  and 
advised  surrender.  Ferguson,  however,  would  not  see 
the  inevitable  and  disdained  to  yield.  He  put  himself 
at  the  head  of  his  men  for  another  charge  and  was  shot 
by  a  dozen  bullets  and  instantly  killed.  The  British  were 
now  crowded  in  a  huddled  mass  near  the  northeast  end, 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  91 

surrounded  on  all  sides  by  the  mountaineers.  To  resist 
longer  was  to  be  slaughtered  like  sheep  in  a  pen. 

De  Peyster  raised  the  flag  a  third  time.  Some  of  the 
mountaineers,  so  ignorant  of  the  customs  of  war  that 
they  did  not  realize  the  meaning  of  the  signal,  and  mad- 
dened by  the  righting,  continued  their  fire,  which  was 
returned  by  some  of  the  desperate  British  soldiers  and 
Colonel  Williams  was  instantly  killed.  The  Americans 
yelling  "  Give  them  Buford's  play,"  then  poured  a  volley 
in  on  the  unresisting  Tories,  most  of  whom  had  practi- 
cally surrendered. 

There  was  a  scene  of  wild  and  terrible  confusion  on 
the  mountain  top.  De  Peyster  wildly  protested  against 
the  butchery  of  surrendered  men.  Sevier,  Shelby,  and 
Campbell  did  their  best  to  restrain  their  reckless,  undis- 
ciplined soldiers,  who  continued  to  fire  upon  the  huddled 
mass  of  British  crying  "  Quarter !  Quarter !  "  and  the 
battle  bade  fair  to  degenerate  into  a  massacre.  Finally 
the  mountaineers  were  stopped,  and  at  Shelby's  words, 

"  D n  you,  if  you  want  quarter,  throw  down  your 

arms !  "  the  British  threw  down  their  guns  and  were 
marched  away  from  them. 

VII.     After  the  Battle 

The  battle  was  over  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon. 
It  had  lasted  scarcely  an  hour.  In  the  confusion  some 
of  the  Tories,  who  wore  no  uniform,  escaped,  but  the 
results  of  the  battle  were  some  three  hundred  killed,  or 
so  severely  wounded  that  they  had  to  be  left  on  the  field, 
and  six  hundred  captured.  On  the  American  side  the 
casualties  were  twenty-eight  killed,  and  sixty-two  wound- 
ed, the  disparity  being  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that  the 


9?-        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

British  firing  down  the  hill  overshot  their  opponents,  in 
accordance  with  a  natural  tendency  under  the  circum- 
stances. 

They  bivouacked  that  night  upon  the  hill.  It  was  a 
night  of  horror.  There  was  but  one  surgeon  in  both 
armies,  Ferguson's.  He  did  what  he  could  to  alleviate 
the  sufferings  of  the  wounded  but  with  little  success. 
The  Americans  had  gained  a  stupendous  victory  but 
their  position  was  still  most  precarious.  With  a  number 
of  prisoners  almost  equal  to  their  total  force,  they  were 
in  imminent  danger  of  attack,  for  they  believed  Tarleton 
was  near.  Anxious  hours  were  passed  until  daybreak 
and  they  took  up  their  march  in  retreat. 

After  the  first  day's  march  information  was  brought 
them  that  Cruger  at  Ninety  Six  had  ruthlessly  hanged 
a  number  of  Whigs  whom  he  had  captured.  At  the  in- 
stance of  the  Carolina  men,  with  the  spirit  of  revenge 
hot  in  their  breasts,  thirty  of  the  principal  men  among 
the  Tories  were  tried  by  summary  court-martial  and 
sentenced  to  death.  Nine  of  them  in  bunches  of  three 
were  at  once  hanged  from  a  huge  tree  near  the  head- 
quarters. Among  those  sentenced  were  the  two  moun- 
taineers who  had  deserted  on  the  march  and  betrayed 
the  advance  to  Ferguson.  One  of  them  was  a  mere  boy. 
He  was  at  once  reprieved.  The  other  was  one  of  Sevier's 
men.  The  gallant  soldier  claimed  him  and  begged  the 
other  officers  that  he  might  be  permitted  to  have  him. 
The  request  was  granted,  and  the  grateful  man  became 
one  of  the  most  zealous  partisans  of  the  Revolution 
thereafter. 

One  of  the  condemned  men  had  a  young  brother 
among  the  prisoners — a  mere  boy.  After  the  first  group 
had  been  executed  the  lad  begged  permission  to  speak 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee   93 

to  his  brother.  Seizing  his  opportunity  he  cut  the  man's 
bonds,  and  he  made  a  dash  for  freedom,  the  mountain 
men,  cheering  the  daring  of  the  boy  and  the  desperate 
courage  of  the  man,  refrained  from  firing  on  him. 
Sevier,  seconded  by  Shelby,  thereupon  interfered  and 
the  bloody  reprisal  ceased. 

In  twenty-eight  days  the  whole  army  was  back  over 
the  mountains,  and  at  home  again — all  but  those  who 
slept  on  the  field  of  their  glory  or  who  died  from  their 
wounds  on  the  return  journey  and  had  been  buried  on 
the  way.  One  of  these  was  the  brother  of  Sevier. 

The  heroic  courage  of  the  Scotch  Presbyterian, 
Campbell;  the  resolute  determination  of  the  Welshman, 
Shelby;  the  dashing  gallantry  of  the  Frenchman,  Sevier; 
the  enthusiastic  devotion  of  the  Irishman,  Lacey;  the 
stern  valor  of  the  German,  Hambright;  the  stubborn, 
dogged  courage  of  Cleaveland,  the  Englishman,  had  won 
this  most  marvellous  battle  on  the  hills. 

Success  came  in  the  very  nick  of  time.  Cornwallis  in 
great  alarm  recalled  his  scattered  forces  and  hastily  fell 
back  into  South  Carolina,  thus  giving  the  Americans 
time  to  re-create  an  army  under  General  Greene,  that 
organizer  of  victory.  The  annihilation  of  Ferguson 
greatly  encouraged  the  South  Carolina  Whigs,  or  rebels, 
and  coupled  with  the  victory  of  the  Cowpens  shortly 
after,  where  Morgan  with  some  of  the  King's  Mountain 
men  to  assist  him,  crushed  Cornwallis'  only  other  suc- 
cessful partisan,  Tarleton,  paved  the  way  to  Yorktown 
and  the  end  of  the  Revolution. 


AN  original  account ,  never  before  published,  of  the  BATTLE  or  KING'S  MOUN- 
TAIN, by  the  REV.  STEPHEN  FOSTER,  A  PARTICIPANT.      The  original  document 
has  been  preter-ved   by  the  descendants  of  Col.    William   Campbell,   toko  com- 
manded the  American  forces  in  the  battle.      Its  use  is  allo-wed  by  Mr.  T.  W.  Prestont 
HOIV  of  Vicksburg,  Miss.,  one  of  his  descendants,  and  a  native  of  south  West  Virginia. 


THIS  battle  followed  the  battle  of  Enaree.  From  the  latter 
it  appears,  that  Col.  Isaac  Shelby  carried  off  200  prisoners 
beyond  the  pursuit  of  the  british  troops.  Major  Ferguson 
with  a  small  party  of  regulars  had  been  detached  by  Lord  Corn- 
wallis,  to  the  upper  section  of  the  Carolinas,  to  gather  troops  to 
the  royal  standard  and  support  the  interest  of  his  Majesty  there. 
In  this  service  he  proved  himself  a  man  of  energy  and  skill ;  mus- 
tered a  force  of  a  thousand  men,  resented  the  affront  of  Shelby, 
and  addrefsed  to  the  latter  a  threatening  mefsage,  that  if  he  would 
not  cease  from  such  depredations,  he  would  march  over  the  moun- 
tains and  burn  those  villages  which  supplied  him  with  men.  Shelby, 
residing  at  his  father's  dwelling,  in  Sullivan  county  East  Tenn. 
on  receiving  this  message,  repaired  to  the  settlements  on  Watauga 
river,  40  miles  distant.  He  there  had  ample  opportunity  of  com- 
municating its  import  to  Col.  John  Sevier,  who  joined  him  in  a 
sentiment  of  congenial  heroism,  for  meeting  so  deserving  and  re- 
spectable an  army.  The  mefsage  before  them  told  them  of  the  foe. 
It  presented  to  them  an  enterprise  of  a  new  and  daring  kind.  The 
object  of  this  enterprize  was  single  and  distinct.  This  was  Fer- 
guson the  whole  of  Ferguson  and  nothing  but  Ferguson. 

The  force  which  these  gentlemen  were  able  to  muster  in  the  two 
settlements,  was  little  over  400  men,  The  army  they  were  to 
attack  was  double  in  number ;  and  headed  by  the  ablest  partisan 
leader  in  the  land.  Shelby  therefore  addrefsed  a  letter  to  Col. 
William  Campbell  of  Washington  Cnty.  Va.  to  come  over  and 
join  in  the  enterprize.  Campbell  at  first  refused,  from  a  desire 

95 


96         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

to  march  in  a  different  direction,  and  unite  his  troops  with  those, 
which  were  then  struggling  in  the  lower  sections  of  his  own  state. 
A  second  mefsage  from  Shelby  was  successful.  Campbells  divi- 
sion amounted  to  400  men.  The  place  of  meeting  was  the  Syca- 
more Flats  on  Watauga  river,  at  the  foot  of  the  Yellow  Mountain. 

They  ascended  this  mountain  on  horseback  about  the  first  of 
Oct.  1780.  They  encamped  the  same  night  in  a  gap  of  the  Moun- 
tain on  the  opposite  side.  The  ascent  of  the  Mountain  was  not 
very  difficult. 

It  was  a  road  travelled  before ;  but  was  impafsable  for  wag- 
gons. 

No  provisions  were  taken  but  such  as  each  man  could  carry 
in  his  wallet,  or  saddlebags.  The  sides  and  top  of  the  Mountain 
were  covered  with  snow  "  shoe  mouth  deep  " — On  the  top  of  the 
Mountain  and  troops  paraded,  here  were  one  hundred  acres  of 
beautiful  table  land.  A  Spring  issuing  throgh  it  ran  over  into 
the  Watauga.  On  reaching  the  plain  beyond  the  Mountain,  they 
found  themselves  in  a  country  covered  with  verdure  and  breathed 
an  atmosphere  of  summer  mildnefs.  The  2nd  night  they  rested 
at  Cathy's  plantation.  The  third  day  they  fell  in  with  Gen. 
McDowel,  and  that  night  held  a  general  consultation  of  the  Officers. 
Gen.  McDowel  was  without  troops.  Yet  his  rank  and  former 
services  could  not  easily  be  overlooked ;  and  at  the  same  time 
these  young  and  daring  officers,  impatient  to  inflict  a  decisive  blow 
on  Ferguson,  were  unwilling  to  brook  the  delay,  that  might  ensue 
from  entrusting  the  command  to  him.  It  was  accordingly  stated 
in  council,  that  they  needed  an  experienced  officer  to  command 
them ;  they  knew  Gen.  Morgan  was  the  man  they  wanted ;  they 
were  unacquainted  with  Gen.  Greene,  and  feared  that  their  re- 
quest to  him  for  Morgans  services  would  be  little  attended  to, 
coming  as  it  necefsarily  must,  from  strangers.  To  obviate  this 
difficulty  so  apparently  perplexing,  McDowel  very  generously 
offered  to  be  their  mefsenger,  being  personally  acquainted  with 
Greene  &  Morgan  and  his  offer  was  gladly  and  promptly  accepted. 

It  was  now  a  matter  of  immediate  consultation  who  should  lead 
them  to  the  intended  attack.  Col.  Campbell  having  been  nomi- 
nated by  Col.  Shelby,  both  from  a  principle  of  courtesy  and  the 
superior  number  of  men  in  his  regiment,  was  elected  accordingly. 

The  fourth  night  they  rested  at  a  rich  Tory's,  where  they  ob- 
tained abundance  of  every  nesefsary  refreshment. — On  pafsing  near 
the  Cowpens,  they  heard  of  a  large  body  of  tories  about  eight 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee    97 

miles  distant  And,  although  the  main  enterprize  was  not  to  be 
delayed  a  single  moment,  a  party  of  80  volunteers  under  ensign 
Robert  Campbell  was  permitted  to  go  in  chase  of  them  during 
the  night.  These  had  removed  before  our  party  came  to  the  place, 
who  accordingly  after  riding  all  night  came  up  with  the  main 
body  the  next  day. 

On  the  next  night  a  similar  expedition  was  conducted  by  an- 
other Officer  without  succefs,  but  without  adding  any  delay  to 
the  march  of  the  army.  At  Gilbertown,  about  two  or  three  days 
march  from  the  enemy,  our  troops  fell  in  with  Col.  Williams, 
(who  was  able  to  select  the  best  Pilots)  together  with  Col  Cleave- 
land,  Tracy,  and  Brandon,  each  commanding  a  body  of  men, 
and  the  whole  amounting  to  300.  These  were  retreating  before 
Ferguson,  and  were  glad  to  join  their  forces  to  ours. 

On  the  night  before  the  day  of  action,  a  misunderstanding  arose 
in  the  attempt  to  crofs  a  river.  Two  fords  were  taken,  and  the 
army  had  separated  and  was  crofsing  at  both.  When  this  was 
perceived  by  the  officers,  a  halt  was  ordered,  and  the  men  rested 
on  this  side  until  morning.  Two  roads  were  here.  And  to  pre- 
vent Spies  from  pafsing  and  repafsing,  they  were  both  guarded 
by  appointed  watchman.  The  least  public  of  these  was  guarded 
by  Lieu.  John  Sawyers,  (since  Col.  Sawyers,)  and  25  men  were 
here  taken  in  this  single  night.  Our  officers  and  men  were  so 
bent  upon  their  object,  So  anxious  to  take  Ferguson  by  surprise, 
and  so  apprehensible  of  his  pofsible  escape,  that  they  could  not 
brook  the  delay  of  footmen.  400  of  them  were  on  foot  The 
other  700  were  mounted  riflemen.  It  was  proposed  now  for  the 
sake  of  despatch,  that  these  should  move  in  the  speediest  man- 
ner. And  although  the  whole  force  was  already  too  small,  it  was 
determined  to  risk  the  fate  of  the  enterprize,  in  the  bravery  and 
addrefs  of  700  men.  While  preparations  were  made  by  the  officers 
for  this  divifsion,  many  of  the  troops  in  the  mean  time  thought 
it  a  fit  opportunity  for  refreshment.  Beef  was  spitted  at  the  fire, 
and  mixed  dough  was  in  the  very  procefs  of  baking;  when  the 
order  was  given  for  the  troops  to  march. — The  hot  meat  without 
roasting,  and  the  hot  dough  without  baking,  was  rudely  thrust 
by  every  man  into  his  saddlebags  or  wallet,  and  the  men  galloped 
off  without  a  murmur.  This  was  in  the  dead  of  night.  They 
were  45  miles  from  the  enemy,  and  nothing  but  the  very  best  rid- 
ing, over  such  roads  as  the  country  afforded,  would  bring  them 
the  next  day  to  his  quarters,  in  season  to  terminate  the  action 


98        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

by  daylight.  They  were  accordingly  there  by  two  O'clock,  in  the 
afternoon.  Here  a  few  intervening  circumstances  may  be  men- 
tioned. Capt.  Craig's  and  some  other  companies,  on  crofsing  a 
river,  (probably  Broad  river)  were  made  to  beleive  by  their  com- 
manding officers,  for  the  sake  of  trying  the  courage  of  their  men, 
that  the  enemy  was  upon  the  opposite  bank.  The  enemy,  accord- 
ingly, which  was  nothing  else  than  the  advanced  guards  of  our 
own  troops,  made  his  appearance  for  their  reception,  retiring  a 
little  as  they  approached  the  river.  They  crofsed  the  river,  dis- 
mounted from  their  horses,  and  advanced  to  the  proposed  attack 
on  the  enemy.  But  finding  no  enemy  there  to  meet  them,  they 
returned  to  their  horses,  and  proceeded  without  further  delay. 

Not  far  onward,  they  were  to  pafs  a  house  on  the  right.  This 
house  formed  a  corner  in  the  road.  They  turned  it  and  bent  their 
course  to  the  right  hand.  Here  stood  a  man  in  the  decrepitude 
of  age,  leaning  on  a  staff,  and  watching  our  men  with  great  earnest- 
ness of  visage. — He  called  out :  "  God  Blefs  you,"  till  his  voice 
died  in  the  distance  of  the  way,  and  in  the  noise  and  hurry  of 
the  forward  march.  They  now  began  to  meet  with  scattered 
notices  of  the  enemy's  encampment  in  the  burnt  fences  and  trod- 
den ground. 

As  the  afternoon  advanced,  some  began  to  talk  of  an  encamp- 
ment for  our  troops,  and  to  give  up  the  hope  of  meeting  the 
enemy  to  day. 

They  had  now  travelled  about  45  miles,  and  during  much  of 
this  time  had  been  wet  with  rain.  It  was  about  2  Oclock  when 
coming  to  a  place  within  two  or  three  miles  of  the  enemy,  they 
intercepted  two  of  his  picquets,  and  captured  the  same  without 
firing  a  gun. 

Ferguson  may  have  had  some  notice  of  our  troops,  though  not 
immediately  before  their  arrival.  A  deserter  from  Col.  Cleave- 
land's  division,  who  will  be  mentioned  again  in  the  sequel  of  the 
narrative,  had  arrived  at  the  British  quarters  a  day  or  two  Be- 
fore and  told  Ferguson  of  the  approaching  attack.  His  appear- 
ance was  said  to  be  so  shabby  and  unpromising  as  to  detract  much 
from  any  high  regard  to  his  statement.  Yet  so  wary  and  vigilant 
an  officer,  as  Ferguson  was  not  to  be  taken  altogether  by  surprise. 
He  had  chosen  his  position,  and  afsumed  an  attitude  of  rigorous 
defence. 

He  was  confident  in  his  own  measures,  yet  to  secure  every  pre- 
caution he  sent  a  mefsage  to  Cornwallis  desiring  aid,  at  the  same 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee    99 

time  stating,  he  had  named  the  place  of  his  encampment,  King's 
Mountain,  in  honour  of  the  King,  and  was  so  strongly  fortified 
here,  that  if  all  the  rebels  in  hell  were  rained  downed  upon  him, 
they  could  not  drive  him  from  it.  The  mefsage  was  intercepted 
by  our  men  and  Cornwallis  knew  nothing  of  the  danger,  till  Fergu- 
son was  no  more. 

King's  Mountain  is  a  ridge  running  east  and  west,  in  york  dis- 
trict, S.  C.  about  10  miles  north  of  the  Cherokee  ford  of  Broad 
river.  A  ledge  of  rock  skirts  the  summit  of  this  Mountain  on 
the  south  side. 

This  formed  a  natural  breastwork  for  the  enemy,  behind  which 
they  could  lie  with  only  their  heads  exposed,  and  take  leisurely 
aim  at  our  troops  on  that  side.  And  it  is  a  remarkable  fact,  which 
does  credit  to  the  rifles  of  our  men,  that  an  unusual  number  of 
the  enemy,  who  fell,  were  shot  through  the  head.  Before  the 
action,  Col.  Shelby  remarked  to  the  army,  that  he  had  been  twice 
likely  to  be  killed  for  an  enemy  by  his  own  men.  He  therefore 
recommended,  as  an  expedient  of  safety,  that  every  man  first  strip 
off  his  coat  and  hat,  and  go  to  battle  without  them.  This  was 
done  by  himself,  and  his  regiment,  but  not  by  others. 

Col.  Campbell  also  was  induced  to  lay  off  his  coat  which  being 
very  peculiar  in  its  color  and  form,  would  have  rendered  him  sig- 
nally conspicuous  from  others.  King's  Mountain  now  emerged  to 
the  view  of  our  men,  and  the  British  and  Tory  troops  were  seen 
through  the  forest  rising  from  dinner. 

The  battle  line  was  quickly  formed.  The  main  attack  was  to 
be  made  by  Campbell's  and  Shelby's  division  up  the  east  and  steep- 
est side  of  the  mountain.  Sevier  was  to  ascend  the  left  side  of 
the  mountain  from  these  and  Cleaveland  on  his  right.  Of  the  main 
body  Campbell's  division  was  on  the  right  and  Shelby's  on  the 
left.  Capt.  Elliot,  in  Shelby's  division,  occupied  the  extreme  left, 
Lieut.  Sawyers  next  to  him,  Capt.  Maxwell's  company  next,  and 
Capt.  Webb  the  extreme  right. 

The  order  of  march,  in  the  companies  composing  Col.  Camp- 
bell's division  was,  as  nearly  as  the  hurry  of  the  transaction  would 
admit,  the  order  of  the  battle  line  from  right  to  left,  the  follow- 
ing :  Capt.  Dysart ;  Capt.  Colvil :  Capt.  Edmonston ;  Capt.  Beatie ; 
Lieut.  Bowen  ;  Captain  Craig ; — 

But  the  movement  forward  was  with  so  much  agility,  and  the 
retreat  so  hurried  and  abrupt,  that  these  companies  not  only  be- 
come intermixed  with  one  another,  but  also  with  those  of  Col. 


ioo       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Shelby's.  The  troops  were  ordered  to  shout  the  Indian  war- 
whoop,  ascend  the  mountain  and  attack  the  enemy.  This  was 
done  with  great  vigour,  when  the  enemy  advanced  in  firm  platoons, 
fired  their  muskets,  charged  with  fixed  bayonets,  and  obliged  them 
to  give  way.  In  the  mean  time  Cols.  Williams,  Tracy,  Brandon, 
Cleaveland  and  Sevier,  who  were  to  march  from  the  left  of  the 
main  body  and  compafs  the  South  and  West  side  of  the  Moun- 
tain, in  the  space  of  15  minutes  arrived  there,  and  af sailed  the 
enemy  from  that  direction.  This  gave  our  troops  an  opportunity 
to  rally  and  return  to  the  charge. 

In  the  early  part  of  this  action,  Col.  Shelby  was  employed  at 
some  distance  from  his  regiment  to  reconnoitre  the  enemy  by  a 
movement  around  the  north  side  of  the  mountain,  to  the  right  of 
our  troops.  Here  he  discovered  a  spacious  opening  between  the 
right  of  Campbell's  and  the  left  of  Seviers.  He  viewed  it  to  be 
an  advantageous  position  for  directing  a  constant  and  effectual  fire 
upon  the  backs  of  a  body  of  Ferguson's  troops,  which  lay  guarded 
in  front  by  the  ledge  of  rocks. 

He  detached  Ensign  Robert  Campbell  with  about  40  men  for 
this  service,  and  returned  to  the  support  of  his  own  division. 

He  found  Col.  Campbell's  men  in  great  disorder  from  the  first 
shock  of  the  British  Platoons ;  and  called  Lieuts.  Sawyers  and 
some  others,  who  afsisted  to  rally  and  bring  them  back.  In  a 
short  time  after  the  rallying  began  Col.  Campbells  horse  became 
exhausted ;  The  Col.  dismounted  and  fought  through  the  rest  of 
the  action  on  foot. 

This  was  a  bay  horse  of  thin  appearance  and  had  been  nearly 
overcome  by  the  fatigue  of  the  march.  The  horse  which  Col. 
Campbell  ordinarily  rode,  was  a  bald  face  black  horse.  After  the 
first  retreat,  Col.  Shelby,  it  is  said,  saw  this  horse  and  some  rider 
on  him,  whom  he  mistook  for  Col.  Campbell  at  the  distance  of 
some  200  yds  from  the  scene. 

Ensign  Campbell  as  above  directed  by  Col.  Shelby  occupied  a 
spur  of  the  Mountain  within  40  yds  of  the  enemy.  When  leading 
his  men  to  this  place,  one  of  them  from  a  view  of  its  exposed 
location,  exclaimed  to  his  commander ;  "  what !  Are  you  taking 
us  there  to  be  marks  for  the  enemy?  "  "  No,"  said  the  other,  "  to 
make  marks  of  the  enemy."  And  this  proved  actually  to  be  the 
case.  For  after  this  detachment  had  plied  their  rifles  in  the 
succefsive  discharge  of  several  rounds  to  a  man,  Ferguson  per- 
ceived their  fire  to  be  so  fatal,  that  he  gave  orders  to  his  ad- 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee    101 

jutant,  MCGinnis,  to  dislodge  them.  McGinnis  marched  his  party 
to  the  charge.  Campbell  heard  him  order  them  to  "  make  ready," 
and  he  commanded  his  own  men  to  "  stand  fast,"  that  is  to  stand 
behind  the  trees. 

McGinnis  then  ordered  them  to  fire  on  Campbell,  who,  from  the 
narrownefs  of  the  tree  that  shielded  him,  expected  to  be  shot 
through  by  several  bullets  at  once.  And  he  escaped  this  fate, 
not  by  the  protection  of  the  tree,  but  by  the  horizontal  aim  of 
the  british  muskets,  which  converged  their  bullets  to  a  place  above 
him,  cracking  the  bark  and  splinters  from  the  tree  and  shattering 
them  down  upon  his  head. 

Campbell  had  now  a  load  in  his  gun,  which  he  discharged  with 
aim  at  the  shoulders  of  McGinnis,  and  the  latter  instantly  fell. 

The  party  now  emerged  from  behind  their  trees,  discharged  their 
pieces  with  similar  exactnefs,  and  the  survivors  of  the  British  party 
retired  to  the  main  body.  Campbell  inspected  the  body  of  McGin- 
nis, and  saw  a  shot  through  the  part  of  the  shoulder  he  had 
aimed  at. 

And  his  party  resumed  their  galling  fire  upon  the  backs  of 
Fergusons  men.  On  all  sides  now  the  fire  was  brisk.  Our  men 
had  become  cool  from  the  first  panic  of  the  British  charge ;  and 
were  plying  their  rifles  with  steady  effect.  The  matter  was  come 
to  a  desperate  crisis. 

Ferguson  was  still  in  the  heat  of  battle  with  characteristic  cool- 
nefs  and  daring.  He  ordered  Capt.  Dupoister  with  a  body  of  regu- 
lars to  reinforce  a  position  about  100  yds  distant.  But  before  they 
arrived  at  this  short  distance,  they  were  thined  too  much  by  the 
American  rifles  to  render  any  effectual  support.  He  then  ordered 
his  cavalry  to  mount,  with  a  view  of  making  a  desperate  onset  at 
their  hedd.  But  these  only  presented  a  better  mark  for  the  Ameri- 
can rifles,  and  fell  as  fast,  as  they  would  mount  their  horses.  He, 
then  perceiving  the  thinnest  line,  which  surrounded  him,  to  be  that 
of  Ensign  Campbell's  Riflemen,  proceeded  on  horseback  with  two 
militia  Cols,  with  the  apparent  design  to  force  his  pafsage  through 
them  and  attempt  an  escape.  But  before  reaching  the  line  of  bat- 
tle he  was  shot  and  expired.  He  had  held  out  with  inflexible  reso- 
lution beyond  even  the  hope  of  resistance.  His  men  once  raised 
the  white  flag  for  surrender,  and  he  pulled  it  down.  He  had  a 
shrill  sounding  silver  whistle,  whose  signal  was  universally  known 
through  the  ranks,  was  of  immense  service  on  many  occasions,  and 
gave  a  kind  of  ubiquity  to  his  movements. 


102        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Who  shot  Ferguson  remains  in  uncertainty.  Several  have 
claimed  it.  But  the  honor  seams  distinctly  accorded  to  none.  Nor 
does  it  appear  to  universal  satisfaction  whether  he  was  shot  on 
horseback  or  sitting  upon  a  stone. 

The  Americans  were  now  in  regular  columns  approaching  the 
British. 

A  large  section  of  Col.  Campbell's  troops  advanced  with  too  much 
rapidity,  when  a  reserved  fire  from  the  British  breastwork  did  more 
fatal  execution  there  than  in  the  whole  action  beside. 

Because  this  forward  movement  brought  them  to  a  level  with 
the  British  muskets,  which  in  most  instances  overshot  their  heads. 

Lieut.  Sawyers  to  this  moment  kept  his  men  at  their  station,  from 
which  they  had  been  firing  through  most  of  the  battle,  at  the  dis- 
tance of  about  twenty  five  steps  from  the  enemy.  Seeing  the  re- 
served fire  discharged,  he  ordered  his  men  to  advance  in  order  to 
increase  the  enemy's  confusion.  The  same  was  done  by  the  other 
companies  on  this  side  of  the  mountain. 

And  Col.  Sevier,  who  had  gallantly  borne  his  share  in  the  conflict, 
was  resolutely  crowding  up  on  the  other  side.  The  British  regulars 
and  American  tories,  were  not  only  surrounded,  but  crowded  close 
together,  cooped  up  in  a  surprisingly  narrow  spaces,  by  the  sur- 
rounding prefsure  of  the  American  troops,  and  fatally  galled  by 
an  incefsant  fire. 

Dupoister,  who  succeeded  in  the  place  of  Ferguson,  perceived  but 
too  plainly,  that  any  further  struggle  was  in  vain.  He  raised  the 
white  flag  and  exclaimed  for  quarters.  Quarters  were  given  by  a 
general  cefsation  of  the  American  fire.  But  this  cefsation  was  not 
by  any  means  complete.  Some  did  not  understand  the  meaning  of  a 
white  flag.  Others,  who  knew  its  meaning  very  well,  knew  that 
this  flag  had  been  raised  before,  but  quickly  pulled  down  again  by 
the  British  Commander. 

Andrew  Evans  was  one  of  these.  He  was  standing  near  to  Col. 
Campbell,  and  in  the  very  act  of  shooting,  when  Campbell  jerked 
his  gun  upwards  to  prevent  its  effect,  exclaiming ;  "  Evans,  for 
God's  sake,  don't  shoot,  it  is  murder  to  kill  them  when  they  raise 
the  white  flag." 

Col.  Campbell  seems  not  to  have  been  distinguished  as  the  Ameri- 
can commander.  For,  having  fought  as  a  foot  soldier  during  most 
of  the  action,  having  climbed  over  the  rocks  of  the  enemy's  breast- 
work with  his  men,  who  drove  them  away  from  it,  he  was  standing 
in  the  front  rank  of  his  soldiery,  his  coat  off  and  his  shirt  collar 
open  like  a  sturdy  farmer, 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee  103 

Dupoister  came  riding  on  a  gray  horse  not  far  from  the  place 
where  the  Col  was  standing  and  inquired,  "  where  is  your  gen- 
eral ?  "  Mr.  Beatie  and  another  pointed  to  the  place  and  Mr.  Crow, 
who  was  not  a  guns  lenth  from  Campbell,  heard  Dupoister  ex- 
claim twice,  "Col.  Campbell,  it  was  damned  unfair;"  alluding  to 
the  above  mentioned  continued  fire,  to  which  Campbell  made  no 
answer  but  the  order  to  dismount. — He  dismounted  accordingly 
and  held  his  sword  for  deliverance  to  his  Captors,  which  was  in 
the  first  place  received  by  Evan  Shelby  and  handed  to  Col.  Camp- 
bell. The  arms  were  now  lying  in  front  of  the  prisoners,  without 
any  orders  how  to  dispose  of  them.  Col.  Shelby,  from  the  part 
of  the  line  which  he  commanded,  rode  out  of  the  ranks  with  the 
apparent  design  of  finding  Col.  Campbell.  Returning  without  suc- 
cefs,  he  exclaims,  "  good  God,  what  can  we  do  in  this  confusion?  " 
"  We  can  order  the  Prisoners  from  their  arms,"  said  Sawyers. — 
"  Yes,"  said  Shelby,  "  that  can  be  done."  The  Prisoners  were 
accordingly  marched  to  another  place,  and  there  surrounded  by  a 
double  guard.  This  action  was  on  the  7th  of  Oct.  1780.  The  lofs 
of  the  enemy  was,  225  killed,  130  wounded,  700  prisoners,  and  1500 
stand  of  arms.  The  American  lofs  was  30  killed  and  60  wounded. 
About  700  men  achieved  this  victory. 

Sevier  led  about  240,  Shelby  200,  Campbell  400,  the  Carolina  Cols. 
300,  making  in  all  about  1140,  of  which,  it  has  been  stated,  that 
about  400  were  left  behind  for  want  of  horses.  These  were  met 
the  next  day  and  reunited  with  the  victors  in  their  march  from 
the  scene.  So  signal  an  exploit  could  not  long  remain  a  secret  to 
Lord  Cornwallis,  and  numerous  rumors  soon  reached  our  men 
that  he  was  in  pursuit  to  recover  his  prisoners.  Our  troops,  there- 
fore, moved  from  the  battle  ground  with  as  little  delay  as  possible, 
to  make  sure  of  a  victory  so  happily  won. 

And  here  let  us  pause  for  a  moment,  to  answer  the  following 
question : — Why  were  so  many  killed  in  the  American  ranks,  when 
the  British  platoons  so  generally  overshot  them? 

1st.  Because  the  great  body  of  Fergusons  troops  were  tories, 
as  good  marksman  as  our  own,  who  always  sought  an  object  for 
their  rifles.  Lieut.  Edmonston  was  standing  a  moment  seeking  a 
view  of  an  enemy  to  fire  at  among  Fergusons  men  behind  the 
breastworks,  and  was  shot  by  a  rifleman  from  the  very  place  he 
was  inspecting.  This  incident  was  an  example  of  many.  For  the 
rocks  which  formed  a  part  of  this  breastwork,  shielded  the  enemy, 
and  enabled  them  to  fire  leisurely  at  our  men. 


104       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

2ndly.  The  eagernefs  of  our  men  for  action.  This  was  so  great 
that  it  led  them  to  exposures  both  dangerous  and  uselefs.  Their 
surest  and  most  effectual  mode  of  fighting  was  to  stand  at  the  dis- 
tance of  a  proper  gun  shot,  and  fire  with  deliberate  aim  at  their 
enemy.  But.  many  of  them  were  too  impatient  for  this  delay. 

Moses  Shelby,  Fagan  and  some  others,  leaped  upon  the  waggons 
of  the  enemy's  breastwork  in  the  uselefs  attempt  to  storm  his  camp. 
But  they  were  soon  carried  off  wounded  from  the  scene.  Some 
were  wounded  by  the  charge  of  the  British  bayonets,  before  they 
would  retire  from  the  first  afsaulL  The  death  of  Col.  Williams 
gave  a  signal  instance  of  this  intemperate  eagernefs  for  action.  He 
espied  Ferguson  towards  the  close  of  the  action  on  horseback,  and 
made  for  him  with  the  full  determination  of  a  personal  encounter. 
William  Moore  was  close  to  him,  and  heard  him  exclaim  "  I  will 
kill  Ferguson  or  die  in  the  attempt." 

He  spurred  his  horse  to  a  speedy  movement,  when  a  rifle  bullet 
stopped  his  career.  He  survived  till  the  white  flagg  told  the  enemy's 
surrender,  and  said,  "  I  die  contented." 

3dly.  From  the  enemy's  reserved  fire  at  the  close  of  the  action. 
Lieutenant  Sawyers  saw  the  companies  around  him,  after  a  general 
discharge  from  the  British,  go  too  hastily  forward,  and  checked 
his  own  men  from  doing  so.  This  movement  forward  near  the 
place  of  the  waggons  brought  many  of  our  men  on  a  level  with 
the  British. — And  their  reserved  fire,  which  was  then  discharged 
in  its  usual  horizontal  direction,  did  fatal  execution  in  our  ranks 
at  that  place.  The  number  killed  in  Col.  Campbell's  division  dur- 
ing the  action  was  13.  The  action  was  on  Saturday.  On  the  next 
Saturday  a  Court  martial  was  held  by  our  Officers  to  try  from 
the  ranks  of  the  tory  prisoners  some  offenders  of  a  notorious  kind. 
Thirty  two  persons  of  this  description  were  condemned  to  die,  of 
which  23  were  pardoned  by  the  commanding  officer.  The  remain- 
ing nine  were  executed  the  same  night.  This  summary  procedure 
was  thought  necefsary;  first  from  the  unsettled  condition  of  affairs, 
which  precluded  all  hope  of  trial  by  jury;  2ndly.  from  the  flagi- 
tious nature  of  the  offences,  one  of  which  was  the  following.  A 
man  went  to  his  neighbor's  house  and  inquired  of  a  little  boy, 
"  Where  is  your  father?  "  to  which  the  lad  answered,  "  he  is  not  at 
home."  And  the  man  shot  him  without  further  ceremony;  though 
fortunately  the  youth  recovered  of  his  wound.  3dly.  to  deter  others 
from  similar  offences,  and  prevent  these  men  from  doing  them 
again. 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee    105 

The  prisoners  and  their  captors  proceeded  on  their  march.  The 
prisoners  were  every  night  obliged  to  sit  upon  the  ground  on  pain 
of  being  shot  by  the  guard,  which  surrounded  them. 

One  night  about  two  weeks  after  the  battle,  a  boy  was  acting  for 
one  of  the  sentries.  One  of  the  prisoners  taking  notice  of  this  con- 
trived to  move  himself  gradually  and  without  rising  near  to  the 
place  where  the  boy  kept  guard.  As  soon  as  he  was  near  enough 
to  take  the  requisite  advantage,  he  started  with  a  quick  jump,  and 
was  making  off  with  speed,  when  the  boy  wheeled  upon  his  heel, 
levelled  his  rifle  and  shot  the  fugitive  through  the  kidneys.  The 
man  was  now  disabled  from  flight,  and  was  drawn  back  again  into 
the  ranks  of  the  prisoners. 

In  the  morning  it  was  ascertained  by  the  testimony  of  Col.  Cleave- 
land,  that  he  was  a  deserter  from  the  troops  of  the  latter,  and  was 
the  very  man  who  had  gone  to  tell  Ferguson  of  our  approach. 
This  man,  therefore,  though  in  imminent  hazard  of  his  life  through 
his  wound,  must  be  tried  by  the  laws  and  usages  of  war.  The  court 
martial  was  equally  divided,  and  Col.  Shelby,  who  had  been  absent 
on  a  visit  for  the  night,  was  called  on  his  arrival  to  decide  the  life 
or  death  of  the  culprit  by  a  single  vote.  The  march  was  now  de- 
layed nearly  two  hours;  and  Shelby,  though  apparently  of  a  rough 
and  careless  exterior,  was  so  deeply  concerned  with  his  own  respon- 
sibility, that  while  some  were  teasing  him  for  an  immediate  decision, 
he  would  not  give  it  in  lefs  than  half  an  hour.  He  finally  gave  it 
for  the  man's  execution ;  and  preparations  were  made  for  it  ac- 
cordingly. 

Two  stakes  were  put  in  the  ground  converging  towards  each 
other  at  the  top  for  him  to  stand  upon,  while  his  neck  was 
fast  by  a  rope  from  above,  ready  to  hang  him  when  the 
under  support  should  be  drawn  away.  He  was  permitted  to  stand 
in  this  attitude  an  hour,  during  which  time  he  was  constantly 
entreating  Col.  Cleaveland;  "Oh,  Col.  Cleaveland,  I  pray  pardon 
me,  and  I  will  be  a  good  and  faithful  soldier  ever  after."  In  the 
mean  time,  Col.  Campbell  comes  up  and  asks ;  "  was  you  the  de- 
serter, who  left  our  troops  to  inform  the  enemy?  "  "  No,"  said  the 
other.  "  Now,"  added  Col.  Campbell,  "  you  are  quickly  to  stand  be- 
fore your  Maker  in  judgment.  Tell  me  in  truth,  if  you  was  that 
deserter."  "  Yes,"  said  the  other,  "  I  was."  And  his  execution 
took  place  accordingly.  So  many  of  our  troops,  as  were  judged 
needful  for  safty,  accompanied  the  prisoners  a  journey  of  three 
weeks  from  King's  Mountain  to  the  Mulberry  fields,  Wilkesbor- 


io6       Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

ough  in  the  state  of  North  Carolina.  Here  they  were  met  by  a 
detachment  of  some  hundreds  of  Carolina  Militia  and  with  these 
the  prisoners  were  left  in  custody.  Cols.  Campbell ;  Shelby  and 
Sevier  attended  the  prisoners  to  this  place ;  then  left  them  and  re- 
turned home. 

In  this  expedition  the  exposures  and  privations  were  extreme. 
Four  hundred  or  more  were  on  foot.  But  these  had  kept  up  with 
the  horse  some  distance  beyond  the  Yellow  Mountain.  The  speed 
of  their  march  required  bodies  inured  to  the  hardest  service.  The 
last  day  they  rode  forty  five  miles,  and  then  encountered  a  disci- 
plined enemy  posted  on  a  high  and  advantageous  position.  Having 
no  baggage  waggons  nor  public  stores,  every  man  was,  from  ne- 
cessity, his  own  provider. 

His  fare  was  the  plainest,  the  coarsest  and  the  scarcest.  His 
resources  of  provision,  like  the  Sedonian  widow's,  were  "  a  hand- 
full  of  meal."  This  placed  in  his  saddle-bags,  furnished  the  amount 
of  his  luxury.  And  when  it  was  exhausted  he  was  left  at  the 
mercy  of  fortune  for  the  rest. 

Their  sick  and  wounded  were  hurried  from  the  battle  scene  with 
all  imaginable  speed  to  avoid  the  afsault  of  a  pursuing  enemy. 

The  softest  accommodation  that  could  be  made  ready  for  con- 
veyance, was  the  fresh  hides  of  the  slaughtered  cattle,  fastened  to 
two  poles ;  these  attached  to  two  horses,  one  before  and  one  behind, 
and  thus  the  sufferer  carried  off  in  safety.  To  specify  particulars 
would  spin  this  narrative  to  a  tedious  prolixity  Two  instances 
only  will  be  here  inserted. 

Alexander  McMillan  rode  all  night  preceding  the  action ;  of 
course  was  without  sleep.  The  second  night,  that  is,  the  night  after 
the  action,  he  was  attending  with  Henry  Dickenson,  to  the  wants 
of  James  Laird  and  Charles  Kilgore,  the  latter  was  shot  with  two 
balls  through  the  side,  and  the  former  with  one,  near  the  middle — 
These  were  constantly  in  want  of  water.  Water  was  of  very  diffi- 
cult procurement.  And  the  effort  to  keep  them  in  a  constant  sup- 
ply, employed  these  men'  with  very  little  intermission,  and  without 
allowing  them  a  moment  of  rest.  The  next  night  Mr.  McMillan 
was  on  guard.  Here  were  three  nights  without  a  wink  of  sleep. 
The  fourth  night  he  was  on  guard — every  two  hours,  with  intervals 
of  rest  of  the  same  length  of  time. 

The  guard  stood  so  thick  around  the  prisoners,  as  to  be  able  to 
touch  each  other  hands  by  reaching.  Here  stood  McMillan,  firmly 
braced,  with  his  gun  in  his  right  hand  resting  upon  the  ground; 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee    107 

Some  time  in  the  night,  Major  Evan  Shelby,  going  the  rounds  of 
the  watch  to  observe  its  order,  comes  to  him  and  asks ;  "  where  is 
your  gun  ? "  The  latter  supposing  it  to  have  fallen  at  his  feet, 
busily  moved  them  without  stooping  down,  in  order  to  find  it  lying 
beneath  him.  But  not  finding  it  there,  he  felt  constrained  to  reply 
to  the  unwelcome  interrogatory,  "  really  I  cannot  tell." 

Shelby  stepped  aside,  took  it  from  a  tree,  against  which  it  was 
leaning,  and  handed  it  back  to  the  owner,  with  these  words ;  "  re- 
member it  is  death  to  sleep  on  guard."  McMillan  acknowledged 
that  this  was  law,  but  added  in  apology,  that  he  had  been  four 
days  deprived  of  sleep,  from  the  above  mentioned  unavoidable 
causes,  Shelby  rejoined:  "you  must  sleep  no  more  upon  guard;" 
but  never  divulged  the  secret.  And  for  this  generous  forbearance 
on  the  part  of  the  inspecting  officer,  McMillan  has  ever  since,  cher- 
ished for  him  a  sense  of  high  personal  regard.  Though  he  thinks 
that  if  measures  had  been  taken  against  him,  and  death  adjudged 
for  neglect  of  duty,  the  circumstances  of  the  case  would  have  been 
seen  to  urge  so  strong  a  plea  in  his  own  justification,  as  to  secure 
a  reprieve  from  the  designated  punishment. 

The  day  after  Wm.  Campbell  was  chosen  to  the  command  he  pro- 
posed to  Robt.  Campbell  to  lead  off  a  detachment  of  men  by  night, 
and  fall  upon  a  party  of  tories,  eight  miles  distant.  The  offer  was 
gladly  accepted,  and  a  body  of  about  eighty  volunteers  set  off  for 
the  attack.  The  tories  had  retreated,  our  party  had  no  fighting; 
they  returned  and  rejoined  the  main  body  by  daylight. — The  next 
night  Robert  Campbell  was  on  a  similar  expedition,  under  the  com- 
mand of  another  officer. 

On  the  next  night  they  began  the  above  mentioned  march  of  45 
miles,  previous  to  the  action.  Here  were  three  successive  nights 
and  days  of  the  hardest  service,  without  a  moment  of  sleep.  The 
next,  he  was  requested  to  take  charge  of  some  part  of  the  guard. 
But  he  stated  to  the  officer  that  this  was  impossible,  from  the  above 
mentioned  incefsent  vigils.  He  then  sunk  down  by  a  tree  and  knew 
nothing  more  till  at  daylight ;  he  woke  shivering  in  the  frost.  Col. 
Shelby  that  night  being  officer  of  the  guard,  was  now  seen  with 
others,  sitting  at  the  guard  fire,  Campbell  arose,  approached  the  fire, 
and  was  presented  by  Shelby,  with  a  bottle  of  rum  for  immediate 
relief.  He  drank  of  this,  sat  down  by  the  fire,  and  undoubtedly 
felt  the  justice  of  the  old  Testament  prescription;  "Give  strong 
drink  to  him  that  is  ready  to  perish  and  wine  to  those  that  be  of 
heavy  hearts," 


io8       Border  Fights   and  Fighters 

These  two  instances  may  perhaps  suffice.  For  how  can  it  be 
requisite  to  give  publicity  here,  even  if  the  writers  information 
were  adequate,  to  the  individual  suffering  of  the  60  wounded? — 
to  tell  of  broken  limbs  and  mangled  bodies,  of  bullet  holes  through 
the  body,  probed  by  a  sympathizing  fellow-soldier,  with  a  smoothed 
twig  of  sassafras,  of  mortification  spreading  from  one  limb  to  an- 
other, of  the  want  of  all  kinds  of  relief  from  a  surgeon,  when  none 
was  present  but  a  wrathful  swearing  British  Doctor? — to  prove  that 
the  privations  and  sufferings  of  these  men  were  extreme?  Nor 
does  it  seem  any  more  necefsary  to  specify  cases  of  individual 
valour.  Two  instances  only  of  faltering  courage  have  been  men- 
tioned to  the  writer,  from  Col.  Shelby's  division.  One  was  of  a 
Captain  lying  flat  upon  his  back  in  the  beginning  of  the  action. 
Another  was  of  a  captain  who  exclaimed  for  bullets  to  a  comrade, 
who  was  passing  him  to  go  up  the  mountain. 

"  Bullets,  bullets,  my  dear  sir,  I  have  not  a  bullet  in  my  pouch." 
"Here  is  enough  of  them,"  said,  his  friend  reaching  out  a  handful 
to  give  him,  "  O,  they  will  not  fit  my  gun,"  said  the  other,  who  was 
accordingly  left  to  this  bloodlefs  dilemma.  The  rest  of  these  men 
were  eager  for  action,  and  determined  on  victory,  and  seemed  to 
have  answered  well  to  the  sentiment  of  their  Commander,  who  told 
them  before  leaving  the  waters  of  the  Watauga,  that  he  wanted  no 
man  to  join  the  enterprize,  who  did  not  wish  to  fight  the  enemy. 
The  troops  of  the  other  Cols,  appear  to  have  been  actuated  by  a 
similar  spirit. 

And  the  whole  history  of  the  enterprize  demonstrates,  that  our 
men  were  led  to  espouse  it,  not  from  a  fear,  that  the  enemy  would 
execute  his  vain  threats  upon  their  villages,  For  to  these  Moun- 
taineers, nothing  than  such  a  scheme  would  have  made  prettier 
game  for  their  rifles ;  nothing  more  desirable  than  to  entice  such  an 
enemy  from  his  pleasant  roads,  rich  plantations,  and  gentle  climate, 
with  his  ponderous  baggage  and  valuable  armory,  into  the  very  cen- 
ter of  their  own  fastnesses,  to  hang  upon  his  flank,  to  pick  up  his 
stragglers,  to  cut  off  his  foragers,  to  make  short  and  desperate  sal- 
lies upon  his  camp,  and  finally  to  make  him  a  certain  prey  without  a 
struggle  and  without  lofs.  Nor  was  it  the  authority  or  influence  of 
a  state,  which  led  them  to  engage  in  this  hazardous  service.  They 
knew  not  whether  to  any  or  to  what  state  they  belonged. — From  the 
rude  circumstances  of  their  early  settlement,  the  difficulty  of  pass- 
ing the  wide  ridges  of  Mountains,  and  their  constant  seclusion  from 
their  eastern  friends,  they  were  living  in  a  state  of  primitive  inde- 
pendence. 


The  Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee    109 

And  it  was  not  till  several  years  after  this,  that  from  the  apparent 
and  urgent  necessity  of  the  case,  they  created  a  temporyry  Gov- 
ernment of  their  own.*  Nor  can  it  be  expected,  that  that  gratui- 
tous patriotism,  from  which  this  enterprise  evidently  sprung,  so 
different  from  that  of  a  paper  victory,  a  scramble  for  office,  &  for 
gain,  can  be  fully  comprehended  by  modern  politicians.  In  those 
days  of  different  principles,  to  know  that  American  liberty  was  in- 
vaded, and  that  the  only  apperent  alternative  in  the  case,  was  Amer- 
ican independence  of  subjugation,  was  enough  to  nerve  their  hearts 
to  the  boldest  pulsation  of  freedom,  and  ripen  their  purposes  to 
the  fullest  determination  of  putting  down  the  aggressor.  The  suc- 
cess at  King's  Mountain  was  fraught  with  signal  adyantage  to 
America.  It  broke  up  the  royal  interest  in  the  upper  section  of 
Carolina.  It  enabled  our  Generals  to  concentrate  their  forces  upon 
great  objects;  and  was  one  in  that  series  of  happy  incidents,  which 
conspired  in  the  progress  of  the  next  year,  to  consummate  the 
splendid  achievement  at  Yorktown.- 


NOTE   BY   THE   REV.   MR.    FOSTER 

The*  original  letter  is  written  on  foolscap  ;  the  paper  is 
yellowed  with  age  and  very  much  worn,  but  the  writing  is 
easily  decipherable.  It  appears  to  have  been  corrected  some 
time  after  it  was  written.  There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  pen 
work  and  the  ink  of  the  editor,  however,  which  betrays  him. 
The  above  follows  the  original  in  spelling,  punctuation,  and 
form  in  every  way,  as  closely  as  I  could  determine  it.  I  have 
not  thought  it  necessary  to  correct  certain  obvious  errors  in 
this  letter,  evidently  written  some  time  after  the  event,  into 
which  the  writer  has  been  betrayed  by  his  uncertain  mem- 
ory. But  it  may  be  well  to  state  that  the  place  of  the  battle 
was  known  as  King's  Mountain  long  before  Ferguson's  ar- 
rival, and  its  name  did  not  refer  to  the  English  monarch, 
but  to  a  settler  named  King  who  formerly  lived  at  its  foot. 

C.  T.  B. 

*  The  Frankland  Government. 


PART    III 
KENTUCKY 

I 
Daniel  Boone,  the  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers 


DANIEL   BOONE,  THE   GREATEST  OF 
THE    PIONEERS 

"  A  dirge  for  the  brave  old  Pioneer! 

Columbus  of  the  land! 
Who  guided  freedom's  proud  career 

Beyond  the  conquered  strand, 
And  gave  her  pilgrim  sons  a  home 

No  monarch's  step  profanes, 
Free  as  the  chainless  winds  that  roam 

Upon  its  boundless  plains." 

I.     The  Land  Beyond  the  Mountains 

BEYOND  the  Alleghenies,  so  long  the  western 
boundary  of  the  new  nation,  lies  a  vast  expanse 
of  country  between  the  Ohio  and  the  Cumberland 
Rivers,  cut  by  the  thirty-seventh  and  thirty-eighth  paral- 
lels of  latitude,  now  known  as  Kentucky.  No  more 
beautiful  region  is  to  be  found  in  the  United  States.  Its 
soil  is  fertile  and  productive,  its  climate  agreeable  and 
invigorating.  It  is  to-day  one  of  the  most  delightful 
states  in  the  Union,  noted  for  the  beauty  of  its  women, 
the  virility  of  its  men,  and  the  speed  of  its  horses — to 
say  nothing  of  the  blueness  of  its  green  grass  and  the 
quality  of  its  whiskey.  One  has  to  be  genial  and  mellow 
even  in  speaking  of  the  state  and  its  people. 

Certainly  no  other  spot  on  the  globe  seems  to  be 
better  designed  for  humanity,  yet  from  the  days  of  the 

8  113 


H4       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

mound  builders  to  the  time  of  the  Revolution  it  was  an 
uninhabited  wilderness,  given  over  to  the  buffalo,  the 
elk,  the  deer,  the  bear  and  the  wolf,  who  prowled  through 
its  dense  forests  or  played  in  its  grassy  glades.  From 
prehistoric  times  no  race  or  tribe  made  its  domicile  there. 
Hunting  parties  of  the  Shawnees  and  even  the  distant 
Iroquois  from  the  north,  ranged  its  wildernesses  and  met 
in  deadly  conflict  similar  bodies  of  men  from  the  Chero- 
kee lands  to  the  south,  or  from  the  Chickamauga  terri- 
tories on  the  west,  so  that  its  forests  resounded  often  with 
war-cries  of  savage  foemen. 

Why  it  was  not  adopted  as  the  settling  place  of  one 
or  the  other  of  the  tribes  has  never  been  ascertained. 
It  may  be  that  no  tribe  felt  itself  strong  enough  to  hold 
the  ground  to  the  exclusion  of  the  others.  It  was  so 
desirable  that  its  very  beauty  and  fertility  operated  to 
make  it  no  man's  land.  No  tribe  was  strong  enough  to 
hold  it  alone,  yet  all  combined  to  keep  it  free.  It  was 
not  until  the  advent  of  that  world-claimer,  the  white  man, 
that  it  became  a  home  for  humanity.  Danger,  opposi- 
tion, prior  claim,  never  deterred  the  pioneers.  The  first 
settlers  were  usually  willing  to  purchase  the  right  of  emi- 
nent domain  if  they  could  do  so  from  any  recognized 
authority  or  power,  but  if  they  could  not — well,  the  earth 
itself  belonged  to  the  pioneer  and  he  took  any  portion 
of  it  without  compunctions  of  conscience  or  questions 
of  law. 

Who  was  the  first  white  man  to  see  Kentucky?  Some 
have  said  that  it  was  Moscosco,  the  successor  of  De  Soto, 
in  1542-3,  but  without  doubt  the  honor  of  the  discovery 
accrues  to  another  member  of  the  Latin  race,  the  great 
explorer  La  Salle,  who  was  the  first  white  man  to  put 
foot  upon  its  smiling,  pleasant  soil  in  1669-70. 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     115 

Colonel  Wood  of  Virginia  and  Captain  Thomas  Batts 
of  the  same  mother  state,  the  latter  sent  by  Governor 
Berkeley,  had  crossed  the  mountain  barriers  in  a  search 
for  a  water  route  to  China  in  1664  and  in  1671  respec- 
tively, but  it  was  hardly  likely  that  they  went  far  into 
Kentucky,  if  they  saw  it  at  all.  The  first  real  explorer 
was  Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  also  of  Virginia,  who  reached 
the  banks  of  the  Cumberland  River  in  1750.  It  was  he 
who  first  marched  through  that  romantic  pass  in  the 
mountains,  which,  with  the  mountains  themselves,  and 
the  river  upon  which  he  made  his  camp,  he  called  after 
His  Royal  Highness  the  Duke  of  Cumberland,  the 
bloody  butcher;  and  that  was  the  first  white  man's  name 
bestowed  in  Kentucky.  It  was  indeed  a  name  of  ancient 
lineage  traced  down  through  the  Cumbrians  of  the  Brit- 
ish Isles,  the  Cymry  of  the  continent,  the  Cimmerians 
of  the  Black  Sea,  directly  from  Corner,  son  of  Japhet ! 

The  Walker  expedition  amounted  to  little  and  the  in- 
terior of  Kentucky  remained  a  terra  incognita  until  1767, 
or  thereabouts,  when  a  certain  John  Finley,  or  Findlay, 
explored  a  small  section  of  it  and  returned  home  to 
North  Carolina  to  fill  the  minds  of  the  adventurous 
young  men  with  whom  he  came  in  contact,  with  tales 
of  its  romantic  possibilities.  Among  those  to  whom  he 
told  the  story  of  his  adventures  was  a  certain  Daniel 
Boone,  a  settler,  farmer,  hunter  and  pioneer,  who  had 
already  some  knowledge  of  the  country.* 

*  This  inscription  on  an  ancient  beech  tree  still  standing  on  Boone' s 
Creek,  a  small  tributary  to  the  Watauga  in  Washington  County,  Tennessee, 
"  D.  Boon  cilled  a  bar  on  tree  in  the  year  1760,"  seems  to  indicate  that 
Boone  had  hunted  across  the  mountains  long  before  he  met  Finley.  But 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  inscription  is  the  work  of  Boone,  and,  in  spite 
of  local  traditions,  a  probability  against  it. 


n6        Border  Fights  and   Fighters 


II.     The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers 

Few  men  have  been  so  written  about  as  Daniel 
Boone*  and  most  writers  have  succumbed  to  the  temp- 
tation to  romance  about  him,  too;  he  is  quite  the  hardest 
man  to  tell  the  truth  about  that  I  have  ever  attempted 
to  discuss.  Let  the  reader  who  differs  from  what  is  here 
set  down  give  me  credit  for  good  intention. 

The  investigator  experiences  a  feeling  of  relief  to  find 
that  Boone  was  born  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania. 
Nearly  every  other  pioneer,  explorer,  discoverer  or  ad- 
venturer of  note,  in  the  trans-Allegheny  regions,  was  born 
in  the  South.  It  is  only  fair  to  say  that  the  West  between 
the  Alleghenies  and  the  Mississippi  was  discovered,  ex- 
plored, settled,  protected  and  won  for  the  United  States 
by  the  people  of  the  Southern  States — a  fact  not  gener- 
ally known,  I  think.  Young  Boone,  one  of  a  numerous 
family,  first  saw  the  light  on  the  22nd  of  October,  1733,  at 
his  father's  farm-house  in  Exeter  township,  Berks  County, 
Pennsylvania,  near  the  village  of  Oley,  which  is  a  few 
miles  northeast  of  the  present  city  of  Reading.  His  fath- 
er, George  Boone,  came  from  Devonshire,  where  he  had 
filled  the  humble  station  of  a  weaver.  The  family  origi- 
nally belonged  to  the  Church  of  England  but  had  be- 
come Quakers.  They  removed  to  Pennsylvania  in  1717, 
whither  three  of  the  older  children  preceded  them,  like 
Caleb  and  Joshua,  to  spy  out  the  land. 

They  were  plain  substantial  people,  of  limited  educa- 

*  Miner's  excellent  Boone  Bibliography  contains  nearly  one  hundred 
and  seventy-five  references  to  lives  and  other  sources  of  information  con- 
cerning his  career,  and  I  have  found  several  additional  references  which  he 
does  not  mention.  * 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     117 

tion;  sturdy,  honest,  independent,  and  capable,  living 
simple  healthy  lives  and  usually  attaining  to  a  great  age. 
Daniel  Boone's  education  in  arts  and  letters  was  of  the 
most  primitive  character.  His  spelling  was  quite  the 
worst  I  have  ever  come  across,  though,  singular  to  state, 
his  handwriting  was  rather  graceful  and  flowing,  perhaps 
because  it  partook  of  the  physical  characteristics  of  the 
man.  His  brother  George  was  sufficiently  well  educated 
to  teach  school,  and  some  of  the  family  subsequently  be- 
came rather  noted  mathematicians. 

But  if  young  Daniel  Boone  knew  but  little  about 
books  and  their  contents,  he  was  one  of  those  who  found 
"  tongues  in  trees,  books  in  the  running  brooks,  sermons 
in  stones  " — yes,  we  may  add — "  and  good  in  every- 
thing." It  was  a  wild  primitive  country  in  those  days. 
The  rifle  of  the  hunter  with  the  plough  of  the  husbandman 
afforded  the  only  means  of  support,  and  more  often  the 
hostile  Indians  caused  the  plough  to  be  laid  aside  and  the 
sole  dependence  put  upon  the  weapon. 

So  Daniel  Boone  grew  up  to  strong  vigorous  man- 
hood in  the  forest  far  from  urban  influence,  which  in- 
deed he  could  never  tolerate.  His  father  moved  to 
North  Carolina  in  May,  1750,  and  established  himself  on 
a  frontier  farm  on  the  Yadkin,  then  the  very  outpost 
of  civilization.  Daniel,  by  this  time,  one  of  a  very  nu- 
merous family,  did  his  share  of  the  work  necessitated  by 
the  building  of  a  wilderness  home  in  that  day,  but  he  was 
ever  fonder  of  the  chase  than  of  the  plough,  and  as  he  was 
the  most  skilful  member  of  the  family  with  the  rifle,  he 
speedily  became  the  hunter  for  them  all.  This  indeed 
was  no  sinecure. 

In  the  course  of  time  other  families  followed  the  ex- 
ample of  the  elder  Boone  and  the  country  began  to  be 


n8        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

thickly  populated.  At  a  very  early  age  Daniel  had  mar- 
ried Rebecca  Bryan,  daughter  of  a  neighboring  settler. 
One  of  the  most  heroic  of  that  splendid  breed  of  pioneer 
women,  she  proved  herself  for  over  half  a  century  a 
worthy  mate  indeed  for  the  great  adventurer.  Boone 
had  prospered,  he  had  a  growing  family  and  a  good  farm, 
yet  he  was  not  happy.  Something,  an  instinct  which  he 
could  never  explain  or  understand,  drove  him  forward. 

He  was  one  of  those  characters  who  are  bound  to  be 
in  the  advance  of  civilization,  who  are  made  to  lead  it 
on,  to  "  blaze  "  the  pathway  of  progress.  He  grew  rest- 
less and  discontented.  The  advent  of  the  settlers  nat- 
urally destroyed  the  primeval  character  of  the  wilderness. 
Game  became  scarce  and  the  ordinary  demands  of  life 
more  complex  and  harder  to  meet.  Nomad  that  he  was 
he  felt  that  he  must  remove  from  his  present  settlement 
and  find  a  new  land  to  which  to  lead  his  family  and  in 
which  to  build  his  cabin. 

Often  and  often  he  gazed  at  the  mountains  soaring 
into  the  heavens  to  the  westward  of  him  and  wondered 
what  lay  on  the  farther  side.  When  Finley  came  home 
with  his  marvellous  tales  of  the  beauty  and  loneliness  of 
the  hunter's  paradise  beyond  the  everlasting  hills,  he 
found  in  Boone  a  ready  auditor  to  his  representations. 

III.     The  Exploration  of  Kentucky 

A  party  of  six  men  was  made  up  in  the  spring  of  1769 
to  cross  the  mountains  under  Finley's  guidance  and  ex- 
plore the  country.  Be  it  remembered  that  this  was  Jo 
be  no  thoughtless  excursion,  no  adventurous  foray,  no 
mere  hunter's  trip  to  a  land  teeming  with  game;  it  was 
a  movement  to  found  a  home.  They  went  to  examine 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     119 

a  land,  to  discover  if  it  were  suitable  for  settlement  or 
not.  Boone  was  unanimously  chosen  to  lead  this  expe- 
dition in  spite  of  the  fact  that  Finley  had  been  over  the 
mountains  before.  On  the  7th  of  June,  1769,  late  in  the 
afternoon,  they  ascended  the  crowning  range  of  the  Alle- 
ghenies,  crossed  the  ridge  of  the  divide,  stood  upon  the 
western  slope  and  gazed  down  upon  as  enchanting  a 
panorama  as  was  ever  spread  before  mortal  vision,  their 
first  sight  of  Kentucky. 

In  popular  acceptance  that  name  is  supposed  to  mean 
"  dark  and  bloody  ground."  So  far  as  it  can  be  deter- 
mined the  original  meaning  of  the  word  Kentucky  is  "  a 
pleasant  meadow,  a  smiling  land,  whence  the  river  flows." 
How  it  got  its  name  of  "  dark  and  bloody  ground  "  is 
perhaps  not  difficult  to  understand.  Some  years  after- 
ward when  Colonel  Henderson  was  negotiating  with  the 
Cherokees  for  the  purchase  of  the  Transylvania  territory, 
they  strove  to  prevent  him  from  acquiring  any  land  south 
of  the  Ohio.  In  the  words  of  old  Dragging  Canoe,  the 
war  chief  of  the  Chickamaugas,  it  was  a  bloody  land, 
there  was  a  gloomy  shadow  over  it,  the  dark  spirits  dwelt 
there,  and  the  white  man  would  do  well  to  let  it  alone. 
There  was  no  doubt  whatever  that  the  words  by  which 
it  became  known,  "  dark  and  bloody  ground,"  were  ap- 
posite to  its  early  history. 

The  party  immediately  descended  the  mountains  and 
began  hunting  and  exploring  until  December.  There- 
after the  better  to  cover  the  country  they  divided  and 
Boone  and  a  companion  named  Stewart  plunged  steadily 
westward  through  the  forests  and  openings.  Near  the 
Kentucky  River  they  were  captured  by  a  band  of  wan- 
dering Indians  and  spent  Christmas  as  prisoners.  Boone, 
already  showing  that  marvellous  sagacity  he  manifested 


120       Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

in  dealing  with  Indians,  seeing  that  resistance  would  be 
hopeless,  directed  his  companion  to  make  no  opposition 
but  to  affect  to  acquiesce  cheerfully  in  their  captivity. 
Their  demeanor  so  disarmed  the  suspicions  of  their  cap- 
tors that  after  they  had  been  in  company  with  them  for 
a  week  they  found  opportunity  to  escape  in  the  night. 

They  shook  off  pursuit  by  their  adroit  woodmanship 
and  finally  reached  the  main  camp.  They  found  it  plun- 
dered and  destroyed  and  Finley  and  his  companions 
gone.  The  four  men  have  vanished  from  the  pages  of 
history.  There  is  no  record  of  their  ever  having  returned 
to  their  friends  across  the  mountains.  It  is  believed  that 
they  were  killed  by  the  Indians  and  that  their  bones  moul- 
dered away  in  the  country  that  they  had  helped  to  dis- 
cover— the  pioneer  martyrs  of  a  long  line. 

Boone  and  Stewart  were  sorely  depressed  by  this  un- 
toward happening,  but  they  continued  their  hunting  and 
exploring,  carefully  avoiding  hunting  parties  of  Indians 
by  their  watchfulness.  They  had  almost  reached  the  end 
of  their  resources,  however,  and  were  considering  a  re- 
turn across  the  mountains,  when,  ranging  through  the 
forest  one  day  in  the  early  winter,  they  perceived  two 
men  coming  through  the  wood,  being  themselves  dis- 
covered at  the  same  moment. 

The  two  parties  took  to  the  trees  and  approached 
each  other  cautiously,  rifles  primed  and  ready,  each  striv- 
ing to  "  draw  a  bead  "  on  the  other.  What  was  their 
surprise  and  relief,  however,  to  find  that  the  two  men 
were  countrymen !  And  their  joy  was  the  greater  when 
Daniel  Boone  recognized  in  one  of  them  his  brother 
Squire — Squire  being  his  name,  not  title. 

The  coincidence  was  really  marvellous,  that  in  sixty 
thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  these  two  parties 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers 

should  find  each  other.  Squire  had  come  to  seek  for 
Daniel  and  had  brought  him  needed  supplies  of  powder 
and  salt.  He  brought  news  of  the  family  on  the  Yadkin, 
who  were  prosperous  and  well  under  Mrs.  Boone's  fos- 
tering care.  The  four  men  determined  to  pass  the  win- 
ter in  Kentucky. 

While  hunting  one  day  Daniel  and  Stewart  were  sur- 
prised by  Indians.  Stewart  was  shot  and  instantly  killed, 
but  Boone  after  a  desperate  fight  managed  to  escape. 
Squire's  companion  also  went  off  on  a  hunting  expedi- 
tion and  never  came  back.  It  is  supposed  that  he  lost 
his  way  and  died  of  starvation  or  exposure. 

The  brothers  amassed  a  great  store  of  peltries  of  much 
value.  In  the  spring  it  was  decided  that  Squire  should 
return  to  North  Carolina  for  supplies,  while  Daniel  re- 
mained behind  to  protect  the  furs  that  had  accumulated 
and  to  increase  the  stock.  The  redoubtable  hunter  was 
thus  left  entirely  and  absolutely  alone  in  the  midst  of  that 
vast  territory;  as  he  said,  "  without  salt,  bread,  or  sugar; 
without  the  society  of  a  fellow  creature;  without  the 
companionship  of  a  horse  or  even  a  dog,  often  the  affec- 
tionate companion  of  a  lone  hunter." 

He  was  desperately  lonely  and  homesick  for  the  sight 
of  his  wife  and  children.  Impelled  by  this  loneliness  to 
action  he  made  a  long  detour  of  exploration  in  the  south- 
west along  the  Salt  and  Green  Rivers.  He  saw  frequent 
signs  of  Indians  and  was  often  forced  to  hide  himself  in 
the  cane  brakes  without  fire  to  escape  their  observation. 

On  the  2/th  of  July,  1770,  his  brother  returned  and 
they  met  at  the  old  camp  on  the  Red  River.  His  brother 
brought  with  him  ammunition  and  necessaries  and  two 
horses,  perhaps  the  first  horses  ever  ridden  by  a  white 
man  in  Kentucky.  The  two  men  explored  the  country 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

between  the  Cumberland  and  Green  Rivers  thoroughly 
during  the  year  until  March,  1771,  when  they  turned 
northwest  to  the  Kentucky  River,  where  they  decided  to 
form  their  permanent  settlement.  Packing  as  much  of 
their  skins  as  their  horses  could  carry  they  returned  to 
the  settlement  on  the  Yadkin. 

There  is  a  story  that  the  two  men  fell  in  with  another 
body  of  hunters  called,  from  the  duration  of  their  stay  in 
Kentucky,  the  Long  Hunters,  and  that  the  party  be- 
guiled the  long  hours  of  the  evenings  in  the  camp  by 
reading  aloud  "  Gulliver's  Travels,"  which,  with  the  pos- 
sible exception  of  the  Bible,  was  the  first  English  book 
read  in  the  territory.  Some  of  the  names  in  the  book 
still  obtain  in  the  state,  as  for  instance,  "  Lulbegrud  " 
Creek ! 

Daniel  Boone  had  been  absent  over  two  years,  during 
which  time  he  had  tasted  neither  bread  nor  salt  nor  seen 
any  white  men  other  than  his  travelling  companions,  who 
had  all  perished,  except  his  brother,  and  the  Indians. 
Meanwhile  other  parties  of  hunters  had  been  exploring 
different  portions  of  the  country,  mostly  in  the  valley  of 
the  Cumberland,  and  at  the  same  time  Robertson  and  his 
North  Carolinians  were  making  the  first  settlement  on 
the  Watauga  in  the  mountains  of  Tennessee. 

IV.     The  Settlement  of  Kentucky 

On  the  25th  of  September,  1773,  Boone,  having  dis- 
posed of  all  his  earthly  goods  save  what  could  be  loaded 
upon  pack-horses,  accompanied  by  his  family  and  that 
of  his  brother  Squire  and  several  other  families  amount- 
ing in  all  to  some  fifty  persons,  set  forth  for  Kentucky. 
It  was  a  small  humble  cavalcade,  a  petty  insignificant 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     123 

migration,  yet  it  marks  a  momentous  date  in  history,  for 
it  was  the  inauguration  of  "  a  movement  for  the  annihi- 
lation of  savagery,  the  extinction  of  the  Latin  and  the 
supremacy  of  the  Teutonic  civilization  in  North  America, 
parallel  to  that  rolling  westward  from  New  England,  New 
York,  and  Pennsylvania,  at  the  same  time." 

It,  with  the  settlement  of  Robertson  on  the  Watauga, 
was  the  beginning  of  that  great  drama  of  our  history 
which  has  been  described  in  poetic  language  as  "  the 
winning  of  the  west."  Many  people  played  a  prominent 
part  in  it,  but  certainly  Daniel  Boone  must  stand  more 
nearly  as  the  Columbus  of  the  movement  than  any  other 
man.  But  it  was  to  be  some  years  before  he  established 
himself  and  family  in  that  promised  land.  As  they  ap- 
proached the  mountains  a  party  of  Indians  fell  upon  their 
rear  guard  and  killed  six  young  men,  among  whom  was 
Boone's  eldest  son.  Alas,  it  was  only  the  beginning  of 
tragedies  that  dogged  his  family,  for  the  Indians  at  one 
time  or  another  made  sad  havoc  among  his  kith  and 
kin.* 

The  unfortunate  incident  so  discouraged  the  pioneers 
that,  in  spite  of  Boone's  urging,  they  gave  over  the  at- 
tempt and  settled  on  the  Clinch  River  in  Virginia. 
Boone's  heart  was  in  Kentucky,  however,  and  he  made 
several  visits  there,  one  to  bring  back  a  party  of  surveyors 
who  had  gone  there  by  the  order  of  Lord  Dunmore,  the 
royal  governor  of  Virginia. 

Boone  was  commissioned  a  captain  in  the  royal  service 
in  Dunmore's  War  and  had  command  of  three  frontier 
forts,  where  he  did  good  service.  He  always  carefully 
preserved  his  British  commission  thereafter,  and  it  is 

*Two  sons,  a  brother,  two  brothers-in-law,  and  other  relatives  were 
killed  by  Indians  at  different  times. 


J24       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

alleged  frequently  saved  his  life  when  he  was  captured 
by  the  Indians,  who  were  the  allies  of  the  British,  by 
exhibiting  it  as  proof  of  his  loyalty,  a  perfectly  justifiable 
stratagem,  of  course. 

In  1775  he  was  sent  by  Colonel  Richard  Henderson 
of  North  Carolina,  who  had  formed  a  proprietary  com- 
pany and  purchased  a  vast  tract  of  land  between  the  Ken- 
tucky and  Cumberland  Rivers,  which  he  called  Transyl- 
vania, to  survey  a  road  to  the  Kentucky  River  and  estab- 
lish a  fort  there  which  should  be  the  head-quarters  of  the 
company.  At  the  head  of  a  small  party  of  some  twenty 
men,  Boone  again  entered  the  promised  land. 

It  speaks  well  for  the  natural  skill  of  the  man  as  a  road 
builder  when  we  learn  that  the  path  he  marked  out  over 
the  mountains  and  up  through  the  valleys  remains  a  great 
highway  to-day,  and  that  subsequent  generations  spent 
thousands  of  dollars  under  the  direction  of  skilled  engi- 
neers on  that  very  "  Wilderness  Road,  "  which  for  loca- 
tion they  found  could  hardly  be  improved  upon.  Here 
is  a  letter  written  twenty  one  years  after  to  General 
Shelby  about  that  same  road : 

Feburey  the  nth,  1796. 
Sir: 

After  my  Best  Respts  to  your  Excelancy  and  famyly 
I  wish  to  inform  you  that  I  have  sum  intention  of  under- 
taking this  New  Rode  that  is  to  be  Cut  through  the  wil- 
derness and  I  think  My  Self  intitled  to  the  ofer  of  the 
Bisness  as  I  first  Marked  out  that  Rode  in  March  1775 
and  Never  Re'd  anything  for  my  trubel  and  Sepose  I 
am  no  Statesman  I  am  a  Woodsman  and  think  My  Self 
as  Capable  of  Marking  and  Cutting  that  Rode  as  any 
other  man.  Sir  if  you  think  with  Me  I  would  thank  you 
to  write  mee  a  Line  by  the  post  the  first  oportuneaty 
and  he  Will  Lodge  it  at  Mr.  John  Milerson  hinkston 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     125 

fork  as  I  wish  to  know  Where  and  When  it  is  to  be  Laet 
(let)  So  that  I  may  atend  at  the  time 

I  am  Deer  Sir  your  very  umble  sarvent 

DANIEL  BOONE 
To  his  Excelancy  governor  Shelby 

This  interesting  document  proves  conclusively  that 
Boone  was  more  familiar  with  the  rifle  than  the  pen. 

The  party  fought  its  way  up  through  the  Indians,  los- 
ing several  killed  on  the  journey.  They  arrived  at  the 
chosen  point  on  the  ist  of  April  and  on  the  2Qth  of  the 
month,  having  been  joined  by  Henderson  and  other  pro- 
prietors, they  began  the  erection  of  a  rude  fort  which 
they  called  in  honor  of  their  leader  Boonesborough.  The 
fort  was  begun  after  the  Battle  of  Lexington  and  com- 
pleted just  before  the  Battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  two  mo- 
mentous events  of  which  the  colonists  were  in  ignorance 
for  a  long  time.  When  they  did  hear  the  news,  however, 
their  rejoicings  showed  their  American  patriotism  was 
above  proof. 

The  fort,  plans  of  which  remain  to  us,  was  a  very  curi- 
ous one,  although  all  frontier  forts,  except  in  dimensions, 
exactly  resembled  it.  It  was  situated  on  the  side  of  a 
hill  with  one  corner  quite  near  the  river.  At  each  of 
the  four  corners  there  was  a  two  story  blockhouse,  and 
along  the  sides  of  the  fort  a  series  of  little  cabins  placed 
close  together,  their  roofs  slanting  inward.  The  loop- 
holed  cabin  walls,  with  the  palisades  which  filled  up  the 
spaces  where  there  were  no  cabins  near  each  of  the  block- 
houses, enclosed  a  space  two  hundred  and  sixty  feet  long 
by  one  hundred  and  fifty  wide.  There  were  heavy  timber 
gates  in  the  front  and  back.  The  walls  were  about 
twelve  feet  high  and  there  was  hardly  a  nail  or  a  piece  of 
iron  used  in  the  whole  enclosure. 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Here,  in  the  same  year,  Boone  brought  his  wife  and 
family;  and,  on  the  8th  of  September,  Rebecca  Boone 
and  her  daughters  were  the  first  white  women  to  stand 
on  the  banks  of  the  Kentucky.  They  were  followed 


i.  STOCKADCS. 
3.    CABIHS. 
*•    CAT£S. 
5.    COOK  House. 


Plan  and  Perspective  View  of  Boonesborough. 

shortly  after,  however,  by  other  families  who  settled  at 
Boonesborough,  Harrodsburg,  and  elsewhere,  in  similar 
forts  throughout  the  territory. 

Thus  the  settlement  of  Kentucky  was  begun,  but  it  was 
not  maintained  for  many  years  without  hardship  and  loss 


The   Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     127 

of  life  incredible.  In  thirteen  years  hundreds  of  men 
and  women  were  killed  by  Indians.  To  their  natural 
ferocity  and  their  overwhelming  desire  to  clear  the  prized 
hunting  ground  of  settlers,  there  was  added  the  encour- 
agement of  the  British  government,  which  was  entirely 
willing  to  let  loose  upon  its  rebellious  subjects  the  horde 
of  savages  and  as  a  definite  evidence  of  its  desires  paid 
liberally  for  the  white  man's — or  white  woman's  for  that 
matter — scalp.  Hamilton,  the  British  Governor  of  De- 
troit. "  the  hair-buyer  general,  "  was  the  prime  mover  in 
this  situation. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  colonists  were  rebels 
to  a  man,  and  it  is  interesting  to  know  that  on  Tuesday, 
May  23rd,  1775,  at  the  instance  of  Colonel  Henderson, 
President  of  the  Transylvania  Company,  a  representative 
government  was  established  at  Boonesborough,  Daniel 
Boone  being  one  of  the  legislators. 

It  is  characteristic  of  Boone  that  in  the  record  of  in- 
troduced bills  he  seems  to  have  originated  but  two  bills, 
one  to  preserve  the  game,  the  other  to  improve  the  breed 
of  horses.  There  speaks  .the  Kentucky  hunter  and 
sportsman!  Both  bills  were  passed,  as  was  another  to 
prevent  "  profane  swearing,"  introduced  by  the  Rev. 
John  Lythe,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church  of  England, 
who,  on  Sunday  the  28th  of  May,  under  the  spreading 
branches  of  a  grand  old  elm,  in  the  words  of  that  most 
ancient  liturgy,  held  the  first  religious  services  within  the 
state. 

V.     Adventures  with  the  Indians 

Boonesborough  was  twice  attacked  by  bodies  of  Ind- 
ians, but  the  war  parties  were  driven  off  with  considerable 


J28       Border   Fights  and  Fighters 

loss  to  themselves  and  but  little  loss  to  the  garrison. 
The  prevalence  of  war  parties  often  prevented  the  settlers 
from  making  a  crop  and  they  were  forced  to  live  mainly 
by  the  chase.  Boone  was  easily  the  best  shot  and  the 
keenest  hunter  in  the  settlement.  This  and  other  quali- 
ties gave  him  the  practical  leadership  of  all  expeditions, 
although  the  proprietors  were  sometimes  present. 

On  Sunday,  July  I4th,  1776,  three  young  girls,  the 
eldest  Elizabeth  Callaway,  aged  seventeen,  her  sister 
Frances,  and  Jemima  Boone,  just  turned  fourteen,  rowed 
across  the  river  in  a  canoe  during  the  absence  of  Boone 
and  Colonel  Callaway,  another  of  the  fine  spirits  of  the 
period.  When  they  reached  the  other  side  the  canoe 
grounded  on  a  bar  and  one  of  a  party  of  six  Indians,  who 
had  come  close  to  the  fort  unobserved,  seized  the  bow 
of  the  boat,  dragged  it  to  land,  and  the  girls  were  capt- 
ured. With  the  spirit  of  the  pioneer  women,  Elizabeth 
Callaway  attacked  the  Indians  with  her  canoe  paddle  and 
severely  wounded  one  of  them  in  the  head.  The  other 
two  girls  also  offered  a  stout  resistance,  which  of  course 
availed  nothing. 

The  Indians,  elated  by  the  capture,  which  they  rightly 
judged  to  be  of  importance,  hurried  their  captives  away 
from  the  fort.  They  strove  to  get  the  girls  to  put  on 
moccasins  in  order  that  the  betraying  tracks  of  their 
shoes  should  not  indicate  their  route  in  the  pursuit  which 
was  certain  to  be  made,  but  Elizabeth  Callaway  resisted 
so  that  they  were  forced  to  let  her  have  her  own  way, 
and  to  trust  to  the  rapidity  of  their  movements  to  effect 
their  escape. 

The  girls,  by  the  intrepid  Elizabeth's  direction,  blazed 
their  trail  by  breaking  twigs  from  the  trees  as  they  passed, 
and  when  they  were  discovered  and  prohibited,  tore  their 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     119 

dresses  into  bits  and  dropped  pieces  at  intervals.  Boone 
and  Callaway  came  back  to  the  fort  that  evening,  when 
the  girls  were  missed. 

Many  of  the  men  were  still  away  hunting  and  it  would 
not  have  been  safe  to  deprive  the  fort  of  all  means  of 
resistance.  Two  parties  were  organized  at  once,  com- 
prising some  twenty  men.  Seven  of  them  went  with 
Boone,  who  easily  caught  the  trail  of  the  Indians. 
Among  them  was  young  Henderson,  son  of  the  proprie- 
tor, who  was  in  love  with  Elizabeth  Callaway,  who  shortly 
afterward  married  him,  while  strangely  enough,  two  of 
the  other  men  in  the  party  afterward  married  the  two 
other  girls  when  they  had  reached  what  was  then  con- 
sidered a  suitable  age.  Women  were  scarce  in  Ken- 
tucky and  the  available  ones  never  lacked  for  lovers  and 
attention. 

Guided  by  the  traces  left  by  the  girls,  the  party  pur- 
sued the  Indians  with  furious  speed,  and  came  upon  them 
encamped  in  fancied  security  the  second  day.  How  to 
effect  the  recapture  of  the  girls  without  giving  the  Ind- 
ians time  to  kill  them  was  something  of  a  problem. 
Boone  and  Henderson  finally  crawled  as  near  the  camp 
as  they  dared,  and  when  four  of  the  others  fired  on  the 
unsuspicious  Indians,  they  dashed  upon  them,  placed 
themselves  between  the  girls  and  the  camp  and  immedi- 
ately opened  fire,  each  shooting  his  man  as  he  ran.  The 
Indians  fled  precipitately  and  the  girls  were  saved.  In 
the  excitement  of  the  little  battle,  so  an  ancient  account 
says,  one  of  the  rescuers,  mistaking  Elizabeth  Callaway, 
who  was  very  dark  and  sat  at  the  foot  of  the  tree  with  a 
handkerchief  bound  around  her  head,  for  an  Indian,  lifted 
his  gun  butt  to  beat  out  her  brains  before  he  recognized 
her. 


130       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

A  few  weeks  after  there  was  a  wedding  in  the  stockade 
between  the  dusky  Elizabeth  and  young  Henderson, 
Squire  Boone,  who  is  reputed  to  have  been  an  elder  in 
the  church,  performing  the  ceremony.  This  was  the  first 
marriage  solemnized  in  Kentucky. 

Boone  was  many  times  in  danger  from  Indians.  In 
1777  his  life  was  saved  by  the  famous  pioneer  Simon 
Kenton.  Several  men  in  the  fields  near  Boonesborough, 
attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians,  ran  toward  the  fort,  one 
of  them  being  killed  and  scalped  by  the  way,  and  their 
cries  led  Boone  to  sally  out  to  their  relief  with  thirteen 
men.  He  charged  impetuously  upon  the  Indians  and 
was  met  by  a  fire  from  a  concealed  party.  With  six  of 
his  men  he  was  wounded  by  a  bullet,  and  as  he  lay  on 
the  ground  one  of  the  Indians  attempted  to  scalp  him. 
Kenton  shot  the  Indian  dead,  lifted  Boone  in  his  arms 
and  with  the  rest  of  his  party  succeeded  in  gaining  the 
fort.  Boone  was  very  taciturn,  silent  and  quiet,  as  one 
who  had  spent  much  time  in  self-communion  in  the  wil- 
derness. In  a  few  brief,  unemotional  words,  which  yet 
meant  more  than  a  volume  from  another  man,  he  thanked 
Kenton  for  his  assistance. 

"  Well,  Simon,  you  have  behaved  yourself  like  a  man 
to-day,"  he  said,  "  indeed  you  are  a  fine  fellow." 

On  one  occasion  while  out  hunting  he  was  captured 
by  a  party,  who  bound  him  with  withes  and  left  him  on 
the  ground  in  the  care  of  some  squaws,  who  proceeded 
to  get  very  drunk  on  the  contents  of  Boone's  whiskey 
bottle.  It  must  have  been  a  very  large  bottle  or  con- 
tained an  unusual  quality  of  whiskey.  During  the  night 
Boone  rolled  over  to  the  fire,  held  his  hands  in  the  flames 
until  the  bonds  were  burned  and  made  his  escape,  first 
blazing  a  tree  with  three  deep  gashes  to  mark  the  place. 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers 

Years  after  he  found  the  gashed  tree  and  settled  a  boun- 
dary dispute  by  his  identification  of  the  landmark. 

While  hunting  with  his  brother  Edward  near  the  Blue 
Licks,  his  brother  was  shot  dead  and  again  Boone  fled 
for  his  life.  The  Indians  followed  his  trail  with  a  dog. 
The  hound  and  the  leading  savage  were  close  upon  him, 
one  of  them  only  was  at  his  mercy.  He  wisely  shot  the 
dog  and  escaped. 

The  record  of  his  many  adventures  would  fill  a  volume. 
His  longest  captivity,  however,  occurred  in  January, 
1773.  A  great  need  of  the  colonists  was  salt.  It  was 
impracticable  to  bring  it  from  the  seaboard  over  the 
mountains,  and  the  only  way  they  could  get  it  was  by 
boiling  the  water  from  the  salt  springs,  or  "  licks  "  as 
they  were  called,  from  the  practice  of  the  wild  animals 
in  licking  the  rocks  of  the  ground  for  the  salt  with  which 
they  were  impregnated. 

With  a  party  of  thirty  men  Boone  was  engaged  in  this 
tedious  but  very  necessary  occupation.  As  usual  he  left 
the  work  to  his  subordinates  while  he  hunted  to  provide 
game  for  the  party.  While  hunting  he  was  taken  by  a 
large  party  of  Indians  en  route  for  Boonesborough, 
which  they  were  by  this  time  determined  to  capture. 
The  garrison  at  Boonesborough,  small  at  best,  was  great- 
ly weakened  by  the  absence  of  this  party,  and  as  they 
could  capture  Boone  and  his  companions  and  then  fall 
upon  the  stockade  there  would  be  no  doubt  but  that  they 
would  take  it  with  the  women  and  children. 

Boone  affected  to  be  delighted  with  his  capture.  He 
said  that  he  and  his  companions  had  left  Boonesborough 
for  good,  that  they  sympathized  with  the  Indians  and 
were  quite  willing  to  go  along  with  them — perhaps  here 
he  exhibited  his  British  commission.  He  adroitly  warned 


132       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

them  at  the  same  time  that  Boonesborough  was  heavily 
re-enforced  with  Americans,  who  had  in  fact  driven  these 
British  sympathizers  away. 

The  Indians,  who  easily  captured  the  rest  of  the  party, 
were  delighted  with  their  prisoners,  who  had  surrendered 
by  Boone's  advice;  and,  moved  by  his  representations, 
abandoned  their  efforts  and  returned  across  the  Ohio  to 
their  own  country  with  their  prisoners.  Boone's  readi- 
ness undoubtedly  saved  the  women  and  children  from  the 
horrible  fate  of  the  Indian  captive.  His  men  were  scat- 
tered among  the  tribes  but  were  in  the  main  well  treated, 
and  most  of  them  finally  escaped  after  varying  periods 
of  captivity. 

There  seems  to  have  been  a  singular  difference  be- 
tween the  Indians  of  that  day  and  place  and  our  modern 
savages.  Black  Fish,  the  head  chief  of  the  Shawnees, 
and  a  warrior  of  no  mean  prowess,  claimed  Boone  as  his 
personal  prisoner,  and  finally  adopted  him  into  his  family, 
renaming  him  Big  Turtle.  Boone  was  separated  from 
his  men  and  taken  to  Detroit,  where  Hamilton,  to  his 
great  credit  be  it  said,  treated  him  kindly  and  even  offered 
to  buy  his  freedom  from  the  Indians  for  one  hundred 
pounds.  Black  Fish  was  so  charmed  with  his  prisoner 
that  he  refused  to  part  with  him  for  any  sum,  and  indeed 
Boone  refused  to  be  bought  so  far  as  he  had  anything 
to  say  about  it,  because  he  did  not  wish  to  be  under  any 
obligations  of  that  sort  to  the  British,  especially  as  it 
might  prevent  his  escape. 

The  Indians  left  Detroit  in  the  spring  and  returned 
south  to  their  own  country,  again  taking  Boone  with 
them.  He  became  a  great  favorite  with  all  the  tribe,  and 
as  usual  was  the  hunter  upon  whom  they  depended. 
They  used  to  count  the  charges  of  powder  and  the  num- 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     133 

her  of  balls  which  he  took  with  him  on  his  hunting 
expeditions  and  when  he  returned  he  had  to  account  for 
every  charge  and  ball.  In  other  words,  he  had  to  bring 
back  game  or  bullets.  They  made  no  provision  for  a 
miss,  which  spoke  eloquently  of  their  opinion  of  his 
marksmanship.  But  Boone  adroitly  used  only  half 
charges  of  powder  and  split  the  bullets,  trusting  to  his 
skill  in  stalking  the  game  to  bring  him  near  enough  to 
make  a  small  charge  do  the  work.  By  degrees  he  man- 
aged to  accumulate  a  little  ammunition  this  way. 

The  Shawnees  were  very  busy  at  the  time  and  he 
learned,  in  spite  of  their  efforts  at  secrecy,  that  they  were 
mustering  in  great  force  for  an  attack  on  Boonesbor- 
ough,  which  they  hoped  to  capture  in  his  absence.  Fear- 
fully anxious  for  his  family  and  others  he  sought  desper- 
ately for  means  of  escape,  and  finally  succeeded  in  getting 
away  on  the  i6th  of  June,  and  in  four  days  he  traversed 
the  distance  between  the  Indian  village  and  Boonesbor- 
ough,  over  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  during  which 
time  he  only  had  a  single  meal.  Part  of  the  time  he 
was  on  horseback,  it  is  alleged.  He  was  not  a  good 
swimmer.  When  he  came  to  the  Ohio  he  found  a  de- 
serted canoe  on  the  banks  which  enabled  him  to  cross 
the  wide  swift  river.  When  the  starved  exhausted 
woodsman  reached  Boonesborough  he  was  received  with 
rejoicings  as  one  risen  from  the  dead.  His  wife,  deem- 
ing that  he  had  been  killed,  had  gone  back  to  North  Car- 
olina with  her  children. 


134       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 


VI.     The  Defence  of  Boonesborough 

The  fort,  which  had  fallen  out  of  repair,  was  at  once 
put  in  shape  for  defence  when  the  news  that  he  had 
brought  became  known.  Boone  naturally  took  charge 
of  everything.  Hoping  that  he  might  deter  the  Indians 
from  coming,  or  stop  their  advance,  while  the  rest  were 
busily  engaged  in  working  on  the  stockade  he  led  a  party 
of  twenty  men  to  the  Scioto  River,  where  he  encountered 
a  larger  force  of  Indians,  defeated  them  and  drove  them 
back.  But  learning  that  the  main  body  was  already  en 
route  for  the  fort  Boone  and  his  companions  retraced 
their  steps,  succeeded  in  passing  the  Indians  and  reached 
Boonesborough  in  safety,  after  a  terrific  march,  just  be- 
fore the  savages  appeared. 

The  party  entered  the  fort  shortly  before  sunset,  Sun- 
day, September  6th,  and  that  night  the  Indians  appeared 
on  the  other  side  of  the  river  and  the  next  morning  they 
crossed  without  opposition  and  invested  the  fort.  The 
Indians  were  not  alone,  however,  for  they  were  accom- 
panied by  eleven  French  Canadians  under  a  young  cap- 
tain, whose  name  was  Dagniaux  de  Quindre,  although 
he  is  usually  referred  to  in  the  histories  as  Du  Quesne, 
and  one  extravagant  romancer  actually  identifies  him 
with  the  family  of  the  great  marquis  for  whom  the  cele- 
brated fort  was  named !  The  party  advanced  under  the 
French  and  English  flags,  strange  to  say.  The  real  com- 
mander of  the  expedition,  which  numbered  four  hundred 
and  forty-four  Indians  beside  the  Canadians,  was  Boone's 
adopted  father  Black  Fish,  very  much  cut  up  at  his 
quondam  son's  desertion  and  defection. 

Contrary  to  their  usual  practice,  instead  of  at  once  be- 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     135 

ginning  an  attack,  the  Indians  through  de  Quindre  pro- 
posed a  parley,  in  which  the  surrender  of  the  fort  was 
demanded  under  promises  of  kind  treatment  and  so  forth. 
Boone's  conduct  in  his  late  captivity  inspired  them  with 
the  hope  that  they  could  effect  their  end  without  resist- 
ance. The  wily  hunter  asked  for  two  days  to  consider, 
which  was  at  once  granted  by  the  unsuspecting  allies, 
who  carried  their  complaisance  so  far  that  when  the  cattle 
of  the  settlers,  returning  in  the  evening  as  was  their  wont, 
presented  themselves  before  the  gate  the  Indians  made 
no  objection  to  their  entrance. 

Meanwhile  the  people  in  the  fort,  amounting  to  thirty 
men,  twenty  boys,  and  the  women  and  children,  worked 
like  beavers,  strengthening  the  palisades  and  getting  a 
supply  of  water  from  a  spring  outside.  It  is  a  strange 
thing  that  almost  every  fort  that  was  erected  in  Kentucky 
was  forced  to  get  its  water  from  some  external  source. 
At  the  end  of  two  days,  their  preparations  having  been 
completed,  Boone  calmly  informed  the  Frenchman  that 
under  no  circumstances  would  he  surrender  and  at  the 
same  time  thanked  the  besiegers  for  allowing  him  time 
to  complete  his  preparations  for  defence. 

Discomfited  by  this  unlooked-for  check  to  their  hopes, 
they  did  not  yet  abandon  their  endeavors  for  a  further 
treaty.  Boone  was  very  anxious  to  gain  time.  Ex- 
presses had  been  sent  to  Virginia  and  North  Carolina 
asking  that  troops  be  despatched  to  aid  them  and  raise 
the  siege.  The  longer  he  waited  the  more  was  the  like- 
lihood of  their  arrival.  He  therefore  consented  to  a  fur- 
ther discussion  of  the  question  of  surrender. 

The  next  day  was  appointed  for  a  council.  Nine 
Americans  were  to  meet  a  party  of  Indians  and  Cana- 
dians, all  unarmed,  outside  the  walls  of  the  fort.  Boone 


136       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

stationed  a  number  of  his  best  riflemen  in  the  block-house 
nearest  the  meeting-place  with  instructions  to  fire  upon 
the  Indians  should  any  treachery  be  manifested. 

The  nine  Americans,  among  whom  were  Boone  and 
his  brother,  secure  in  this  protection,  held  a  grand  pow- 
wow with  the  Canadian  and  Indian  delegates,  who  were 
present  in  considerably  greater  numbers  at  the  treaty 
place  between  the  fort  and  the  Indian  encampment.  A 
singular  treaty  of  peace,  hard  to  understand  from  the 
meagre  accounts  which  have  come  down  to  us,  was  pro- 
posed, to  which  the  Americans  agreed.  After  the  matter 
had  been  apparently  amicably  settled  de  Quindre  and 
his  allies  thought  that  nothing  remained  to  them  but  to 
take  possession  of  the  post;  but  before  they  parted  they 
proposed  that  the  treaty  should  be  ratified  by  a  general 
handshaking.  This  request  was  acceded  to  by  Boone, 
who,  to  tell  the  truth,  does  not  seem  to  have  shone  as 
a  diplomatist.  Instead  of  shaking  hands  singly  two 
Indians  at  once  endeavored  to  grasp  the  hands  of  each 
American,  and  as  soon  as  the  savages  seized  the  pioneers 
they  started  to  drag  them  toward  the  Indian  camp. 

But  they  reckoned  without  their  hosts.  If  Boone  was 
little  of  a  negotiator  he  was  much  of  a  fighter.  Shout- 
ing to  his  men  he  jerked  himself  free  from  the  two  who 
held  him  and  struck  out  right  and  left  with  his  fists,  in 
the  good  old  Anglo-Saxon  style,  a  way  the  Indians  knew 
nothing  of.  His  example  was  followed  by  his  compan- 
ions and  the  whole  party  ran  for  the  fort  pursued  by  the 
Indians.  At  the  same  time  the  rest  of  the  savages  who 
had  not  attended  the  council  ran  from  their  camp  by  the 
river  bank  and  opened  fire;  but  a  steady  and  well-di- 
rected fire  from  the  block-house  killed  a  number  of  the 
pursuers  and  enabled  Boone  and  his  men  to  reach  the 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     137 

gate  in  safety  with  no  one  killed,  though  Squire  Boone 
was  severely  wounded. 

Concealment  and  pretence  were  now  at  an  end.  The 
Indians  poured  a  furious  fire  upon  the  fort,  which  was 
returned  with  deadly  effect  by  the  Kentuckians.  A  ren- 
egade negro  slave  who  had  stolen  an  extra  long-range 
rifle  amused  himself  by  ascending  a  tall  tree  and  from 
there  picking  off  the  exposed  garrison.  Boone  by  an 
extraordinary  shot  brought  him  down. 

The  Indians  besieged  the  fort  for  nine  days,  using 
every  stratagem  and  artifice  of  which  they  were  capable 
to  effect  the  capture,  and  finally  resorted  to  the  unheard- 
of  expedient  of  attempting  to  undermine  the  stockade. 
Their  endeavor  was  detected  by  the  great  quantities  of 
mud  which  they  threw  in  the  river  and  Boone  at  once 
began  a  countermine. 

Tradition  has  it  that  much  rude  banter  was  exchanged 
between  the  combatants.  "  '  What  are  you  red  rascals 
doing  there?  '  an  old  hunter  would  yell  in  Shawnese 
from  the  battery  to  the  unseen  Indians  on  the  river  bank 
below.  '  Digging,'  would  be  the  return  yell.  '  Blow 
you  all  to  deveil  soon;  what  you  do?  '  '  Oh  ! '  would  be 
the  cheerful  reply,  '  we're  digging  to  meet  you  and  in- 
tend to  bury  five  hundred  of  you.' ' 

The  little  garrison  was  constantly  on  the  walls,  its 
efforts  being  seconded  by  those  of  the  women,  who 
moulded  bullets,  loaded  rifles,  and  in  many  instances  even 
joined  in  the  actual  fighting,  when  one  face  or  the  other 
was  assaulted.  On  one  occasion  the  Indians  set  fire  to 
the  roofs  of  the  cabins  with  blazing  arrows  and  torches, 
but  a  fortunate  rain  which  had  saturated  the  logs  pre- 
vented the  spread  of  the  fires  and  saved  the  fort. 

The  rain  flooded  the  badly  constructed  mine  the  be- 


138       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

siegers  had  made,  the  bank  caved  in,  and  their  whole 
work  was  ruined  just  as  they  had  carried  it  within  striking 
distance  of  the  gate.  In  utter  discouragement  they 
raised  the  siege  on  the  i6th  of  September  and  retired, 
having  sustained  a  very  heavy  loss.  Exactly  what,  how- 
ever, is  not  known,  although  the  Kentuckians  counted 
at  least  thirty-seven  killed  outright  beside  many  wound- 
ed. Two  of  the  defenders  had  been  killed  and  four  were 
wounded. 

So  furious  had  been  the  fire  that  after  the  battle  they 
picked  up  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  pounds  of  lead 
bullets  from  the  ground  around  the  fort,  and  this  takes 
no  account  of  the  vast  number  which  had  buried  them- 
selves harmlessly  in  the  trunks  of  the  trees.  The  gal- 
lant defence  undoubtedly  saved  the  fort  from  being  over- 
whelmed and  the  settlement  wiped  out  at  this  juncture. 
Indeed  it  may  be  said  to  have  saved  Kentucky,  and  the 
sturdy  little  band  of  backwoodsmen  desperately  defend- 
ing the  fort  in  the  wilderness  deserve  as  well  of  their 
country  as  the  men  of  Bunker  Hill  and  Valley  Forge. 

VII.     The  Last  Battle  of  the  Revolution 

After  the  repulse  of  the  Indians  from  Boonesborough 
Boone,  who  was  a  major  in  the  county  militia,  was 
promptly  brought  to  trial  before  a  court-martial,  first  for 
surrendering  at  the  Salt  Licks,  and  second  for  the  par- 
leying and  treaty  ing  at  the  fort.  He  was  immediately 
acquitted,  being  able  to  show  that  the  motive  for  his 
actions  had  been  the  protection  of  the  settlement  and 
had  resulted  for  the  best  in  both  cases,  and  he  was  at 
once  promoted  in  rank  to  a  lieutenant-colonel.  Here- 
after he  is  invariably  styled  Colonel  Boone. 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     139 

The  disastrous  repulse  of  the  Indians  and  the  spring- 
ing up  of  other  stations  nearer  the  Ohio  combined  to 
render  Boonesborough  secure  from  any  further  attacks. 
The  fort  was  still  maintained,  but  the  constantly  increas- 
ing number  of  settlers  flowed  out  of  its  constricted  area 
and  built  their  cabins  in  its  vicinity.  Soon  a  thriving 
town  grew  up  around  the  battle-scarred  enclosure  and 
then  Boone,  who  had  gone  to  North  Carolina  and 
brought  his  family  back  to  Kentucky,  felt  it  necessary 
to  move  on. 

Abandoning  his  land  claim,  to  which,  indeed,  he  found 
through  some  carelessness  he  had  no  complete  title,  and 
having  lost  nearly  all  his  movable  property  by  robbery, 
he  moved  across  the  Kentucky  River  and  settled  in  the 
wilderness  again  at  a  place  which  he  called  Boone's  Sta- 
tion, another  small  frontier  fort  where  he  resumed  his 
occupation  of  hunting  and  trading. 

On  the  1 6th  of  August,  1782,  a  mounted  messenger 
came  dashing  up  to  the  station,  his  horse  in  a  lather  of 
foam,  carrying  the  news  that  Bryan's  Station,  a  very  im- 
portant point  further  westward  and  five  miles  from  the 
present  city  of  Lexington,  had  been  attacked  by  an  over- 
whelming force  of  Indians  and  white  men,  and  that  the 
place  was  in  desperate  straits.  Boone  himself  happened 
to  be  at  Boonesborough  at  the  time,  but  the  men  at  the 
station  immediately  mounted  their  horses  and  galloped 
to  the  succor  of  their  brethren. 

Meanwhile  the  messenger  was  despatched  to  Boone 
and  the  next  day  found  the  old  pioneer  on  the  march 
with  all  the  men  of  the  vicinity  to  the  relief  of  Bryan's 
Station.  The  siege  there  had  been  raised  by  as  desperate 
a  defence  as  was  ever  exhibited  in  a  frontier  fort,  when 
the  rescuing  parties  arrived.  Messengers  had  been  sent 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

in  all  directions  and  on  the  evening  of  Saturday,  August 
1 7th,  pioneers  to  the  number  of  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  had  assembled  at  Bryan's  Station,  and  several  hun- 
dred men  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Benjamin 
Logan  were  hourly  expected. 

There  was  a  great  preponderance  of  officers  among 
the  men  already  at  the  station,  and  long  and  anxious 
were  the  councils  which  were  held  to  determine  their 
course.  It  was  a  principle  of  border  warfare  that  no 
savage  foray  should  be  allowed  to  go  unpunished,  al- 
though it  was  known  that  the  allies,  who  were  com- 
manded by  Campbell  and  McKee,  renegades  from  the 
American  cause  with  the  infamous  Simon  Girty  and  a 
large  party  of  Wyandottes,  among  the  fiercest  warriors 
on  the  continent,  greatly  outnumbered  the  Kentuckians, 
and  it  was  finally  determined  to  pursue  them  at  once, 
without  waiting  for  the  advent  of  Logan. 

Early  on  the  next  morning  the  party,  consisting  of 
horse  and  foot  under  the  command  of  Colonels  John 
Todd,  Stephen  Trigg,  and  Daniel  Boone,  set  forth.  The 
Indians  and  Canadians  had  marched  very  deliberately 
and  had  taken  particular  care  that  their  trail  should  be 
easily  followed,  even  to  the  extent  of  blazing  it,  by  gash- 
ing the  trees  as  they  passed.  This  itself  was  a  very  seri- 
ous indication,  but  the  backwoodsmen  were  indifferent 
to  odds  and  the  Kentuckians  dashed  on  rapidly,  so  rapid- 
ly that  they  marched  thirty-three  miles  the  first  day.  In 
the  two  days  that  had  elapsed  the  allies  had  marched 
thirty-eight  miles,  so  that  the  two  forces  encamped  for 
the  night  but  five  miles  from  one  another. 

The  next  morning  they  took  up  the  march  again  and 
in  a  short  time  came  to  the  Licking  River,  a  stream 
easily  fordable,  at  a  place  called  Blue  Licks,  one  of  the 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers 

salt  springs  which  from  time  immemorial  had  been  the 
haunt  of  the  buffalo  and  deer.  The  river  here  makes  a 
loop  enclosing  a  piece  of  land  shaped  like  a  sugar-bowl. 
The  trail,  a  buffalo  "trace,"  led  straight  across  the  river 
and  up  an  open  ridge,  the  sides  of  which  were  heavily 
timbered,  and  cut  by  ravines  running  at  right  angles  to 
the  ridge.  It  was  the  place  where  Boone  had  been  capt- 
ured when  with  the  salt  party  years  before.  With  that 
wonderful  topographical  instinct  which  had  enabled  him 
to  find  his  way  in  the  densest  wilderness,  every  detail 
of  the  position  was  fresh  in  his  memory. 

A  few  Indians  were  seen  on  the  other  side  of  the  river 
upon  the  ridge.  As  the  Kentuckians  approached  them 
they  leisurely  disappeared.  A  party  of  scouts  was  sent 
forward  but  found  nothing.  Their  inspection  must  have 
been  perfunctory,  for  the  woods  and  ravines  were  filled 
with  Canadians  and  Indians  in  ambush,  waiting  just  such 
an  opportunity  as  this.  There  was  something  very  sus- 
picious about  the  whole  situation,  however,  and  the  place 
was  so  dangerous  that  the  assemblage  was  halted  while 
a  council  of  war  was  held. 

Boone,  as  the  most  experienced  Indian  fighter  and  as 
the  man  of  the  highest  importance  among  them,  was 
asked  for  his  opinion.  He  pointed  out  that  the  situation 
was  grave  indeed.  He  felt  certain  that  the  Indians  were 
ambushed  on  the  other  side  of  the  river,  and  that  the 
Kentuckians  should  at  once  select  a  defensive  position 
on  their  own  side  and  hold  it  until  the  arrival  of  Colonel 
Logan  and  his  men.  Only  a  man  of  Boone's  courage 
could  have  offered  such  counsel  and  their  only  salvation, 
as  it  happened,  would  have  been  in  its  acceptance.  But 
with  all  his  reputation  and  powers  Boone  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  a  leader  of  men.  His  prowess  was  individ- 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

ual  and  his  reputation  likewise,  so  his  counsel  was  disre- 
garded by  the  majority  and  it  was  determined  to  attack. 

Boone  then  proposed  that  a  party  should  be  detached 
to  march  secretly  up  the  river  and  fall  upon  the  rear  of  the 
Indians  and  Canadians,  at  a  prearranged  signal,  while  the 
main  attack  was  delivered  in  front.  While  this  dangerous 
proposition  was  being  discussed, — for  there  was  enough 
military  talent  among  the  allies  to  have  enabled  them  to 
overwhelm  one  detachment  before  the  other  arrived,  if 
the  manoeuvre  were  detected,  which  would  almost  cer- 
tainly happen, — a  Major  McGary,  a  man  of  headlong  and 
impetuous  valor,  but  without  discretion,  disgusted  with 
the  apparent  hesitation  of  the  Kentuckians,  and,  as  he 
states,  chafing  under  the  taunt  of  cowardice  which  had 
been  flung  at  him  the  day  before  when  he  had  suggested 
waiting  for  Logan,  suddenly  broke  up  the  council,  after 
much  bickering,  by  turning  his  horse  to  the  ford  of  the 
river  and  dashing  across  it  shouting,  "  Let  all  who  are 
not  cowards  follow  me !  " 

It  was  one  of  those  foolish  appeals  which  always  pro- 
duce disaster  and  the  consequences  of  which  are  usually 
terrible.  Large  parties  of  the  men  immediately  broke 
after  McGary  and  the  wiser  and  older  officers  found 
themselves  committed  to  a  course  of  action  entirely  at 
variance  with  their  knowledge  and  experience.  McGary 
ought  to  have  been  shot  by  someone  before  he  entered 
the  river,  but  the  authority  of  the  officers  was  of  a  very  in- 
definite character.  The  men  were  all  equals  and  they 
obeyed  just  about  as  it  pleased  them,  or  nearly  so. 
There  was  nothing  for  Boone,  the  Todd  brothers,  Trigg, 
Harlan,  and  the  rest,  to  do  but  follow  and  endeavor  to 
restore  such  order  as  they  could  in  the  mob  into  which 
their  men  had  degenerated. 


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The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     143 

The  force  passed  the  river  unmolested,  and  advanced 
up  the  broad  buffalo  trail  toward  the  top  of  the  ridge. 
Some  semblance  of  order  was  restored  as  they  pro- 
gressed. McGary  led  the  advance  party  of  twenty-five 
men,  Trigg  took  command  of  the  right,  Boone  of  the 
left,  and  Todd  of  the  centre.  Preferring  to  fight  on  foot 
a  majority  of  the  troops  dismounted  and  left  their  horses 
on  the  bank.  The  bare  ridge  was  about  three  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  long  and  the  thin  attenuated  line  barely 
covered  it.  As  they  approached  the  top  a  rifle  shot  rang 
out,  followed  by  a  stunning  volley.  Of  the  twenty-five 
men  in  the  advance  twenty-three  were  instantly  shot 
down,  McGary  being  one  of  the  two  who  escaped.  Fate 
must  have  been  asleep  at  that  moment,  for  if  ever  a  man 
deserved  death  it  was  he. 

Following  the  first  volley  the  Canadians  appeared  in 
force  on  the  ridge,  while  on  either  flank  the  Indians 
opened  a  deadly  fire  from  the  ravines.  The  Kentuckians 
stood  to  their  ground  manfully  and  returned  the  fire,  in- 
flicting quite  a  heavy  loss,  but  in  an  instant  the  open  was 
black  with  men.  Boone  and  his  men,  however,  advanced 
gallantly  and  drove  the  Indians  back  on  the  left,  but  only 
temporarily.  The  Indians,  especially  the  Wyandottes, 
were  as  fearless  and  as  reckless  as  the  Iroquois,  and  after 
the  first  volleys  they  came  bursting  through  the  smoke 
tomahawk  in  hand. 

The  Kentuckians  with  unloaded  rifles  and  knives  were 
no  match  for  the  Indians  with  tomahawks,  especially 
when  outnumbered  three  to  one.  Nearly  every  officer 
of  rank  was  instantly  killed.  The  Indians  overwhelmed 
the  right  wing  and  extended  their  lines  around  that  flank, 
the  centre  then  gave  back  before  the  tremendous  press- 
ure and  the  advancing  left  became  isolated.  In  another 


144       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

moment  the  Kentuckians  would  have  been  entirely  sur- 
rounded and  a  massacre  would  have  ensued.  Sauve  que 
peut  became  the  order  of  the  day  at  once. 

The  Kentuckians  fled  pell-mell  in  wild  confusion  to 
the  river,  those  mounted  galloping  madly  down  the 
buffalo  trail,  others  seeking  to  gain  their  frightened 
horses  and  escape.  Boone,  fighting  desperately  with 
knife  and  clubbed  rifle  in  defence  of  his  life,  his  horse 
having  been  killed,  found  himself  far  in  advance  of  his 
line,  cut  off  by  the  Indians  who  had  gathered  between 
him  and  the  river.  His  son  Isaac,  a  private  in  his  com- 
pany, lay  dying  at  his  feet. 

Seizing  the  boy  in  his  arms  with  superhuman  strength 
he  burst  through  the  encircling  foemen  and  by  his 
knowledge  of  the  place  gained  shelter  in  a  ravine  through 
which,  still  carrying  the  wounded  lad,  he  made  for  the 
river.  Although  he  had  escaped  observation  for  the 
moment  his  discovery  was  certain.  The  Indians  and 
Canadians  were  ranging  the  woods  and  butchering 
everybody  they  came  across.  The  helpless  wounded 
upon  the  field  were  immediately  killed.  As  it  chanced, 
the  poor  boy  died  in  his  father's  arms  and  Boone  put 
his  body  in  a  sheltered  recess  in  the  rocks  and  finally 
succeeded  in  escaping  across  the  river. 

Major  Netherland,  who  was  better  mounted  than  the 
others,  gained  the  opposite  bank  of  the  river.  With  cool 
hardihood  he  stopped  every  man  who  came  across  until 
he  had  gathered  quite  a  party  about  him.  Charging 
their  rifles  they  waited  until  the  main  battle  came  roll- 
ing toward  the  stream.  The  Kentuckians  in  advance 
plunged  into  the  water,  the  Indians  close  after  them. 
Netherland's  force  by  steady  firing  checked  the  pursuit 
at  the  bank  of  the  river  until  their  exhausted  comrades 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     145 

got  over,  when  they  immediately  scattered  in  the  woods. 
The  Indians  attempted  little  or  no  pursuit  on  the  other 
side  of  the  river. 

Sixty-seven  Kentuckians  were  killed  outright  or  were 
murdered  on  the  field  after  the  battle.  Seven  were  capt- 
ured, of  whom  four  died  by  torture,  and  many  of  those 
who  escaped  were  wounded  in  some  way  or  other. 

Half  way  to  Bryan's  Station  the  fugitives  met  Colonel 
Logan  with  four  hundred  men  coming  to  their  support. 
In  the  face  of  this  disastrous  defeat,  in  which  over  forty 
per  cent,  had  been  lost,  and  ignorant  of  the  number  of 
the  allies,  which  rumor  had  magnified  to  an  extraordi- 
nary degree,  Logan  deemed  it  prudent  to  retire  to 
Bryan's  Station. 

The  return  of  the  defeated  brought  desolation  and 
sorrow  to  the  whole  territory.  A  few  days  after  the 
battle  the  army,  greatly  re-enforced,  marched  out  to  the 
battle-field,  which  was,  it  may  be  imagined,  a  scene  of 
horror.  The  Indians  had  carried  away  their  dead,  the 
Canadians  had  buried  theirs,  and  their  loss  was  never 
certain.  Compared  to  that  of  the  Kentuckians,  how- 
ever, it  was  inconsiderable.  Logan  and  Boone  buried 
the  dead  on  the  field,  covering  their  remains  with  a  huge 
mound  of  stones. 

What  must  have  been  the  thoughts  of  the  old  pioneer 
whose  advice,  if  they  had  taken  it,  might  have  prevented 
this  fearful  slaughter!  He  had  lost  his  brother,  two  of 
his  brothers-in-law,  and  two  of  his  sons  in  battles  with 
the  Indians.  Certainly  he  had  paid  a  heavy  price  for  his 
part  in  the  settlement  of  Kentucky! 

He  accompanied  George  Rogers  Clark  in  the  expedi- 
tion which  was  organized  after  the  battle  of  the  Blue 
Licks,  which  devastated  the  Indian  country,  and  did 

10 


146       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

good  service  there.  But  the  Indians  came  no  more  to 
Kentucky.  The  treaty  of  peace  which  closed  the  Revo- 
lution deprived  them  of  their  British  backing,  and  left 
the  United  States  free  to  deal  with  them,  and  it  is  a  nota- 
ble fact  that  this  sanguinary  and  disastrous  engagement 
was  the  last  battle  of  the  Revolution.  The  contest  which 
began  at  Lexington,  Massachusetts,  ended  at  the  Blue 
Licks,  Kentucky,  a  place  that  had  never  been  dreamed 
of  when  Pitcairn  shot  down  the  minute  men,  so  rapid 
even  under  adverse  circumstances  had  been  the  growth 
and  expansion  of  our  country. 

VIII.     The  End  of  the  Old  Pioneer 

After  the  war  Boone's  carelessness  in  complying  with 
the  legal  requirements  caused  him  to  be  dispossessed 
of  his  second  attempt  at  land  claim,  and  in  1795  he  re- 
moved to  Missouri,  then  a  part  of  the  Spanish  territory 
of  Louisiana.  Here,  with  his  children  and  grandchildren 
around  him,  he  passed  the  remainder  of  his  days,  his  pas- 
sion for  hunting  existing  to  the  very  last.  Long  past 
the  age  of  threescore  and  ten  the  old  hunter  and  pioneer 
made  excursion  after  excursion  through  that  yet  unex- 
plored west  which  still  rose  before  him  with  all  the  allure- 
ments that  it  held  in  the  days  of  his  youth.  There,  in 
1813,  his  faithful  wife  died.  She  had  been  a  helpmeet 
to  him  indeed. 

"  A  dirge  for  the  brave  old  pioneer! 

A  dirge  for  his  old  spouse! 
For  her  who  blest  his  forest  cheer 

And  kept  his  birchen  house. 
Now  soundly  by  her  chieftain  may 

The  brave  old  dame  sleep  on. 
The  red  man's  step  is  far  away, 

The  wolf's  dread  howl  is  gone." 


The  Greatest  of  the  Pioneers     147 

When  Louisiana  passed  to  the  United  States  Boone 
again  found  that  he  had  neglected  to  secure  his  land  title 
from  the  Spanish  government  and  was  again  dispossessed 
of  his  claim,  so  that  he  who  had  spent  his  lifetime  in  dis- 
covering, acquiring,  protecting,  the  vast  territory  of  the 
United  States  west  of  the  Alleghenies,  found  himself  at 
last  without  a  rood  of  ground  to  call  his  own.  In  his 
extremity  he  appealed  to  the  legislature  of  Kentucky, 
and  at  their  urgency  the  government  of  the  United  States 
through  Congress  granted  him  a  tract  of  land  in  Mis- 
souri, where  he  died  on  the  23rd  of  September,  1820,  in 
the  eighty-sixth  year  of  his  age. 

As  was  fitting  and  proper,  his  remains  with  those  of 
his  wife  were  brought  back  in  1845  to  rest  in  the  soil 
of  Kentucky,  which  justly  cherishes  his  memory  as  one 
of  the  fathers  of  the  commonwealth.  Not  often  has 
there  been  in  our  history  so  admired  and  beloved  a 
pioneer.  He  stands  for  a  class  which  has  vanished,  and 
which  circumstances  will  never  permit  to  reappear,  but 
a  class  which  performed  great  services  in  the  develop- 
ment of  this  country,  and  which  will  always  be  held  in 
grateful  remembrance.  The  hunting  shirt  and  the  axe, 
the  long  rifle  and  the  powder  horn,  the  handful  of  parched 
corn,  and  the  coon-skin  cap,  these  should  be  incorporated 
in  our  escutcheon,  for  these  were  the  means  by  which 
was  won  to  us  that  great  country  between  the  Alleghe- 
nies and  the  Mississippi. 


PART  III 
KENTUCKY 

II 

The  Women  and  Children  of  Bryan's  Station 


THE    WOMEN     AND     CHILDREN    OF 
BRYAN'S    STATION 

I.     The  Wives  of  the  Pioneers 

IN  discussing  Border  Fights  and  Fighters,  the  battles, 
sieges,  and  adventures  whereby  was  brought  about 
that  great  winning  of  the  west  justly  so  celebrated 
in  song  and  story,  the  attention  of  the  historian  is  usually 
given  particularly  to  the  men,  and  well  it  may  be.  But 
in  many  instances  the  women  played  as  brave  a  part  as 
their  husbands  or  fathers,  and  the  chronicles  and  tradi- 
tions of  the  rude  times  teem  with  thrilling  instances  of 
sturdy  courage  and  heroic  daring  on  the  part  of  the  femi- 
nine pioneers.  Generally  speaking,  the  wives  of  the 
frontiersmen  indeed  showed  themselves  worthy  help- 
mates to  their  cool  and  adventurous  husbands.  If  some 
of  the  things  that  these  women  did  were  set  down  for 
modern  delectation  they  would  be  regarded  as  utterly 
incredible,  and  the  most  exuberant  imagination  of  the 
most  daring  dime  novelist  of  other  days  could  scarcely 
match  the  truth. 

For  instance,  in  1787,  there  was  Mrs.  John  Merrill  of 
Nelson  County,  Kentucky,  who,  when  her  husband  des- 
perately wounded  staggered  into  his  cabin  and  fell  on  the 
floor  at  her  feet,  succeeded  in  shutting  and  barring  the 
door  upon  the  assaulting  Indians,  and  when  they  broke 
into  the  house  through  a  shivered  plank  of  the  door, 
killed  four  of  them  in  succession  with  an  axe — the  axe, 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

strange  to  say,  being  the  favorite  weapon  of  the  women, 
as  the  rifle  was  that  of  the  men !  And  when  the  savages 
gave  over  that  attempt  and  tried  to  enter  by  the  chimney, 
with  ready  wit  she  emptied  her  feather  bed  on  the  flames 
and  smoked  them  away,  keeping  them  at  bay  till  help 
came  and  her  loved  ones  were  saved. 

Then  there  was  Elizabeth  Zane,  a  young  miss  just 
come  from  boarding  school  in  Philadelphia  to  her  father's 
house  on  the  frontier  in  1777.  The  people  of  the  settle- 
ment being  besieged  by  Indians  and  rangers  under  Girty, 
in  Fort  Henry,  where  Wheeling  now  stands  in  West 
Virginia,  suddenly  found  themselves  without  powder  and 
facing  certain  capture.  Not  a  man  could  be  spared  from 
the  weakened  garrison  which  had  already  lost  over  half 
its  members,  but  the  brave  girl  volunteered  to  run  to 
an  outlying  cabin,  her  father's,  and  bring  back  thence  a 
keg  of  powder  which  had  been  left  there.  She  succeed- 
ed in  her  desperate  undertaking  in  spite  of  a  heavy  fire 
poured  upon  her  by  the  Indians,  delivered  the  powder 
to  the  garrison,  and  saved  the  fort !  * 

I  recall  the  story  of  two  other  women  who  held  their 
cabin  against  an  overwhelming  force,  the  husbands  of 
the  two  weltering  in  gore  upon  the  floor — one  dead,  the 
other  dying,  in  fact.  The  Indians  repeatedly  tried  to  set 
the  cabin  on  fire  and  the  women  put  out  the  flames  again 
and  again,  first  with  their  scanty  supply  of  water,  and 
when  that  was  exhausted,  by  the  use  of  raw  eggs,  and 
when  the  store  of  these  in  turn  was  gone,  with  the  blood- 
stained garments  of  their  husbands,  saving  their  children 
and  themselves  from  a  fate  too  horrible  to  dwell  upon. 
And  there  are  hundreds  of  similar  instances  that  might 
be  mentioned. 

*  See  my  book  Woven  with  the  Ship  :  Saved  by  Her  Slipper. 


The  Women  of  Bryan's  Station   J53 

But  the  women  of  Bryan's  Station  exhibited  a  greater 
degree  of  heroism  than  perhaps  any  other  body  of  women 
in  the  new  settlement  of  Kentucky.  Bryan's  Station  was 
situated  about  five  miles  north  of  the  present  city  of  Lex- 
ington. It  was  originally  founded  by  the  Bryan  brothers, 
their  families  and  friends.  One  of  these  brothers  had 
married  a  sister  of  the  famous  Daniel  Boone,  as  had  an- 
other of  the  settlers,  and  both  men  lost  their  lives  in 
Indian  conflicts.  Boone's  wife,  by  the  way,  was  a  sister 
of  these  Bryans. 

II.     An  Old-Time  Frontier  Fort 

The  station  was  a  rude  log  fort  enclosing  about  forty 
cabins.  It  was  about  six  hundred  feet  long,  two  hun- 
dred feet  wide  and  twelve  feet  high.  The  cabins  were 
placed  at  intervals  around  this  parallelogram,  and  the 
spaces  between  filled  with  a  heavy  palisade,  the  outer 
walls  of  the  cabins,  with  the  palisades,  composing  the 
walls  of  the  fort.  There  were  two  entrances  closed  with 
two  heavy  wooden  gates.  In  each  corner  a  two-story 
block-house  was  built  which  projected  four  feet  beyond 
the  walls,  giving  the  defenders  an  enfilading  fire.  The 
roofs  of  the  cabins  sloped  inward  from  the  edge  of  the 
palisades,  or  outer  walls,  so  that  a  small  person  crouching 
upon  the  inner  edge  of  the  roof  would  not  be  visible 
from  outside  of  the  stockade. 

Like  almost  every  other  frontier  fort  in  Kentucky 
there  was  no  water  in  the  enclosure,  a  terrible  mistake, 
but  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  the  springs  were  gen- 
erally on  low  ground  not  suitable  for  defensive  works — 
still  they  might  have  dug  wells  in  the  forts,  but  the  fact 
remains  they  rarely  did.  A  short  distance  from  the 


154       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

northeast  corner  of  the  fort  there  was  a  bountiful  spring 
from  which  the  garrison  could  get  water  when  there  was 
nobody  there  to  prevent. 

There  had  been  terrible  doings  on  the  frontier  during 
the  spring  and  summer  of  1782.  The  British  and  Indians 
had  made  raid  after  raid  through  the  land.  Two  years 
before  a  certain  Colonel  William  Byrd  of  Westover,  Vir- 
ginia, a  Tory,  who  seems  to  have  been  a  gentleman  and 
a  soldier,  led  some  eight  hundred  Indians  with  a  detach- 
ment of  soldiers  and  some  artillery  into  Kentucky.  None 
of  the  forts  was  proof  against  artillery,  nor  was  there  any 
in  the  territory  except  that  in  the  possession  of  George 
Rogers  Clark,  which  was  not  available.  Two  stations, 
Martin's  and  Ruddle's,  were  attacked  in  succession  and 
easily  captured.  Their  garrisons  and  inhabitants  were 
murdered  and  tortured  with  shocking  barbarity.  It  is 
to  the  eternal  credit  of  Colonel  Byrd,  that,  rinding  him- 
self unable  to  control  the  Indians,  he  abandoned  his  ex- 
pedition and  withdrew,  otherwise  the  whole  land  would 
have  been  desolated.  The  bulk  of  the  invading  Indians 
were  Wyandottes,  who  were  easily  first  among  the  sav- 
ages of  the  northwest  for  ferocious  valor  and  military 
skill.  The  opposing  forces  being  exactly  equal,  a  de- 
tachment of  them  defeated  a  certain  Captain  Estill  by  a 
series  of  brilliant  military  manoeuvres  which  would  have 
done  credit  to  a  great  captain,  being  indeed  upon  a  small 
scale  Napoleonic  in  their  conception  and  execution. 

Two  years  after  Byrd  had  withdrawn,  William  Camp- 
bell and  Alexander  McKee,  notorious  renegades,  with 
the  infamous  Simon  Girty,  whose  name  has  been  a  hiss- 
ing and  byword  ever  since  he  lived,  led  a  formidable  war 
party  consisting  of  a  few  Canadians  and  four  hundred 
Indians  into  Kentucky.  The  first  place  they  attacked 


The  Women  of  Bryan's  Station   155 

was  Bryan's  Station.  Another  place  called  Hoy's  Sta- 
tion was  menaced  by  a  different  party  of  Indians  and 
express  messengers  had  ridden  to  Bryan's  Station  to 
seek  aid,  which  the  settlers  were  ready  to  grant. 

The  American  party  was  being  made  up  to  go  to 
Hoy's  Station  early  in  the  morning  of  the  i6th  of  Au- 
gust, 1782,  when  as  they  approached  the  gate  to  ride 
out  of  it,  a  party  of  Indians  was  discovered  on  the  edge 
of  the  woods  in  full  view.  The  party  was  small  in  num- 
ber, comparatively  speaking,  yet  its  members  exposed 
themselves,  out  of  rifle  range,  of  course,  with  such  care- 
less indifference  to  consequences,  or  to  a  possible  attack, 
as  inevitably  to  suggest  to  the  mind  of  Captain  John 
Craig,  who  commanded  the  fort  at  the  time,  that  they 
were  desirous  of  attracting  the  attention  of  the  garrison 
in  the  hope  that  their  small  numbers  might  induce  the 
men  of  the  station  to  leave  the  fort  and  pursue  them. 

Craig  was  an  old  Indian  fighter  who  had  been  trained 
in  Daniel  Boone's  own  school.  He  was  suspicious  of 
any  manoeuvre  of  that  kind.  Checking  the  departure  of 
the  relief  party,  he  called  his  brother  and  the  principal 
men  of  the  station  into  a  council  and  they  concluded  at 
once  that  the  demonstration  in  the  front  of  the  fort  was 
a  mere  feint,  that  the  Indians  were  anxious  to  be  pur- 
sued and  that  the  main  attack  would  come  from  the 
other  direction. 

III.     Ruse  Against  Ruse 

The  surmise  was  correct.  With  cunning  adroitness 
Campbell  had  massed  the  main  body  of  his  forces  in  the 
woods  back  of  the  fort  with  strict  instructions  for  them 
to  remain  concealed  and  not  show  themselves  on  any 


156       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

account  until  they  heard  the  fire  coming  from  the  front 
of  the  station,  which  would  convince  them  that  their  ruse 
had  succeeded.  Then  they  were  to  break  from  cover 
and  rush  for  the  back  wall  of  the  fort,  which  they  sup- 
posed would  be  undefended,  scale  it,  and  have  the  little 
garrison  at  their  mercy.  It  so  happened  that  the  spring, 
referred  to  above,  from  which  the  fort  got  its  water  sup- 
ply, lay  within  a  short  distance  of  the  main  body  con- 
cealed in  the  thick  woods  which  surrounded  the  clearing 
with  the  fort  in  the  centre.  The  situation  was  perfectly 
plain  to  Craig  and  his  men.  They  determined  to  meet 
ruse  with  ruse  and  if  possible  defeat  the  Indians  at  their 
own  game. 

Before  they  could  do  anything,  however,  they  must 
have  a  supply  of  water.  On  that  hot  August  day  life  in 
that  stockade,  especially  when  engaged  in  furious  bat- 
tle would  become  unsupportable  without  water.  Only 
the  ordinary  amount  sufficient  for  the  night  had  been 
brought  in  the  day  before.  The  receptacles  were  now 
empty.  After  swift  deliberations  the  commandant  turned 
to  the  women  and  children  crowded  around  the  officers, 
and  explained  the  situation  plainly  to  them.  He  pro- 
posed that  the  women,  and  children  who  were  large 
enough  to  carry  water,  should  go  down  to  the  spring 
with  every  vessel  they  could  carry  and  bring  back  the 
water  upon  which  their  lives  depended.  He  also  ex- 
plained to  them  that  the  spring  was  probably  covered 
by  concealed  masses  of  the  enemy  who  were  waiting  for 
the  success  of  the  demonstration  in  front  of  the  fort  to 
begin  the  attack. 

He  said  further,  that  it  was  the  opinion  of  those  in 
command,  that  if  the  women  would  go  to  the  spring 
as  they  did  under  ordinary  circumstances,  as  was  their 


The  Women   of  Bryan's  Station   157 

custom  every  morning  that  is,  the  Indians  would  not 
molest  them,  not  being  desirous  of  breaking  up  the  plan 
by  which  they  hoped  to  take  the  fort  and  have  every- 
thing at  their  mercy.  The  men  in  the  fort  would  cover 
the  women  with  their  rifles  so  far  as  they  could.  It 
would  be  impossible  for  them  to  go  and  get  water; 
as  it  was  not  the  habit  of  the  men  to  do  that,  the  unusual 
proceeding  would  awaken  the  suspicions  of  the  Indians 
and  the  men  would  be  shot  down  and  the  fort  and  all  its 
inmates  would  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  savages. 

Every  woman  there  was  able  to  see  the  situation. 
The  theory  upon  which  they  were  proceeding  might  be 
all  wrong.  The  Indians  might  be  satisfied  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  capturing  the  women  thus  presented,  and  the 
women  and  children  might  be  taken  away  under  the  very 
eyes  of  the  helpless  men.  On  the  other  hand,  it  was 
probable,  though  by  no  means  certain,  that  Craig's 
reasoning  was  correct  and  that  the  Indians  would  not 
discover  themselves  and  the  women  and  children  would 
be  allowed  to  return  unmolested.  Still  nobody  could 
tell  what  the  Indians  would  do  and  the  situation  was  a 
terrible  one.  Capture  at  the  very  best  meant  death  by 
torture.  The  women  in  the  fort  had  not  lived  on  the 
frontier  in  vain.  They  realized  the  dilemma  instantly. 
A  shudder  of  terror  and  apprehension  went  through  the 
crowd.  What  would  they  do?  They  must  have  the 
water;  the  men  could  not  get  it,  the  women  did! 

Mrs.  Jemima  Suggett  Johnson,  the  wife  of  an  intrepid 
pioneer  and  the  daughter  and  sister  of  others,  instantly 
volunteered  for  the  task.  She  was  the  mother  of  five 
little  children  and  her  husband  happened  to  be  away  in 
Virginia  at  the  time.  Leaving  her  two  little  boys  and 
her  daughter  Sally  to  look  after  the  baby  in  his  dug-out 


158       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

cradle,  she  offered  to  go  for  the  water.  This  baby  was 
that  Richard  Mentor  Johnson,  who  afterward  became 
so  celebrated  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames  where  Tecum- 
seh  was  killed,  and  who  was  subsequently  Vice-President 
of  the  United  States. 

Taking  her  little  daughter  Betsy,  aged  ten,  her  eldest 
child,  by  the  hand,  the  fearless  woman  headed  a  little 
band  of  twelve  women  and  sixteen  children,  who  had 
agreed  to  follow  where  she  led;  among  them  were  the 
wives  and  children  of  the  Craig  brothers.  The  little 
ones  carried  wooden  piggins,  and  the  women  noggins 
and  buckets.  The  piggin  was  a  small  bucket  with  one 
upright  stave  for  a  handle — a  large  wooden  dipper  as  it 
were — while  the  larger  noggin  had  two  upright  staves 
for  handles. 

Carefully  avoiding  any  suspicious  demonstration  of 
force  on  the  part  of  his  men,  Captain  Craig  opened  the 
gate  and  the  women  marched  out.  Chatting  and  laugh- 
ing in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  were  nearly  perishing 
from  apprehension  and  terror,  they  tramped  down  the 
hill  to  the  spring  near  the  creek  some  sixty  yards  away, 
with  as  much  coolness  and  indifference  as  they  could 
muster.  It  was  indeed  a  fearful  moment  for  the  women, 
and  no  wonder  that  some  of  the  younger  ones  and  the 
older  children  found  it  difficult  to  control  their  agitation; 
but  the  composed  manner  of  those  valiant  and  heroic 
matrons  like  Mrs.  Johnson  somewhat  reassured  the  oth- 
ers and  completely  deluded  the  Indians.  Probably  the 
younger  children  did  not  realize  their  frightful  danger 
and  their  unconsciousness  helped  to  deceive  the  foes  in 
ambush. 

It  took  some  time  to  fill  the  various  receptacles  from 
the  small  spring,  but,  by  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Johnson, 


The  Women  of  Bryan's  Station   159 

no  one  left  the  vicinity  until  all  were  ready  to  return. 
This  little  party  then  marched  deliberately  back  to  the 
fort  as  they  had  come.  Not  a  shot  was  fired.  The  Ind- 
ians concealed  within  a  stone's  throw  in  the  underbrush 
had  looked  at  them  with  covetous  eyes,  but  such  was 
the  unwonted  discipline  in  which  they  were  held  that 
they  refrained  from  betraying  themselves,  in  the  hope 
of  afterward  carrying  out  their  stratagem.  As  they 
neared  the  gate  some  of  the  younger  ones  broke  into  a 
run  crowding  into  the  door  of  the  stockade  which  never 
looked  so  hospitable  as  on  that  sunny  summer  morning, 
and  some  of  the  precious  water  was  spilled,  but  most  of 
of  it  was  carried  safe  into  the  enclosure. 

With  what  feelings  of  relief  the  fifty-odd  men  in  the 
station  saw  their  wives  and  children  come  back  again 
can  scarcely  be  imagined.  Despatching  two  daring  men 
on  horseback  to  break  through  the  besiegers  and  rouse 
the  country,  Craig  immediately  laid  a  trap  for  the  Ind- 
ians. Selecting  a  small  body  he  sent  them  out  to  the 
front  of  the  fort  to  engage  the  Indians  there,  instructing 
them  to  make  as  much  noise  and  confusion  as  possible. 
Then  he  posted  the  main  body  of  his  men  at  the  loop- 
holes back  of  the  fort,  instructing  them  not  to  make  a 
move,  nor  fire  a  gun,  until  he  gave  the  order. 

The  ruse  was  completely  successful.  Deceived  by  the 
hullabaloo  in  front  the  Indians  in  the  rear,  imagining 
that  their  plan  had  succeeded,  broke  from  cover  and,  in- 
stantly dashed  up  to  the  stockade,  shouting  their  war 
cries,  and  expecting  an  easy  victory.  What  was  their 
surprise  to  find  it  suddenly  bristling  with  rifles  as  Craig 
and  his  men  poured  a  steady  withering  fire  into  the  mass 
crowded  before  them,  fairly  decimating  them.  They  ran 
back  instantly,  and  concealment  being  at  an  end,  re- 


160       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

turned  the  fire  ineffectually.  Immediately  thereafter 
from  every  side  a  furious  fire  from  four  hundred  rifles 
burst  upon  the  defenders.  All  day  long  the  siege  was 
maintained.  Once  in  awhile  a  bullet  ploughing  through 
a  crevice  in  the  stockade  struck  down  one  of  the  brave 
garrison,  but  the  casualties  in  the  station  were  very  few. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  an  Indian  exposed  himself 
he  was  sure  to  be  killed  by  a  shot  from  some  unerring 
rifle.  One  or  two  Indians  climbed  a  tree  seeking  to 
command  the  fort  therefrom,  but  they  were  quickly  de- 
tected and  shot  before  they  had  time  to  descend.  At 
last  they  attempted  to  burn  the  fort  by  shooting  flaming 
arrows  up  in  the  air  to  fall  perpendicularly  upon  the 
buildings.  The  children,  the  little  boys,  that  is,  and 
some  of  the  older  girls,  were  lifted  up  on  the  inclined 
roofs,  where  they  were  safe  from  direct  rifle  fire,  though 
in  imminent  danger  of  being  pierced  by  the  dropping 
arrows,  with  instructions  to  put  out  the  fires  as  fast  as 
the  arrows  kindled  them,  which  they  succeeded  in  doing. 
Meanwhile,  the  women  were  busy  moulding  bullets  and 
loading  rifles  for  the  men,  and  many  of  them  took  their 
places  on  the  walls  and  aided  in  the  defence. 

"  The  mothers  of  our  forest  land, 

Their  bosoms  pillowed  men; 
And  proud  were  they  by  such  to  stand 

In  hammock,  fort,  or  glen; 
To  load  the  sure  old  rifle, 

To  run  the  leaden  ball, 
To  watch  a  battling  husband's  place, 

And  All  it  should  he  fall." 

Finding  their  efforts  unavailing  the  Indians  ravaged 
the  surrounding  country.  They  killed  all  the  cattle  be- 
longing to  the  pioneers,  burned  and  destroyed  the  fields 


The  Women  of  Bryan's  Station   161 

of  grain,  and  turned  the  environment  into  a  bloody 
desert.  In  the  afternoon  a  succoring  party  from  Boone's 
Station  appeared,  but  without  Boone,  for  he  was  absent 
at  the  time,  and  succeeded  in  entering  the  fort.  The 
new-comers  included  some  sixteen  horsemen  with  thirty 
footmen  from  the  Lexington  Station. 

The  horsemen  approached  unobserved  and  deliberate- 
ly dashed  through  the  Indian  lines.  The  suddenness  of 
their  onset  and  the  great  cloud  of  dust  raised  by  their 
horses  disconcerted  the  Indians  and  they  succeeded  in 
breaking  through  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man,  al- 
though they  were  shot  at  by  numbers  of  savages. 

The  footmen,  however,  who  were  some  distance  away, 
hearing  the  noise  of  the  horsemen's  battle,  disobeyed 
orders  through  friendly  gallantry,  and  instead  of  endeav- 
oring to  gain  the  fort  turned  aside  with  the  intention  of 
succoring  the  horsemen  who  had  already  rushed  through. 
They  found  themselves  in  a  corn-field,  confronted  by  an 
overwhelming  body  of  Indians,  and  incontinently  ran. 

Fortunately  for  the  hunters  these  Indians  had  just  dis- 
charged their  pieces  at  the  horsemen  and  there  had  not 
been  time  to  reload.  The  rifles  of  the  Kentuckians  were 
still  charged,  and  even  the  most  implacable  savage  hesi- 
tated to  attack  a  loaded  rifle  with  a  tomahawk. 

Keeping  the  Indians  back  by  threatening  them,  the 
footmen  gave  over  the  attempt  to  reach  the  fort  and  suc- 
ceeded, with  the  exception  of  six  killed,  in  escaping, 
These  Kentuckians  did  not  fire  until  they  had  to,  and 
every  time  they  did  they  brought  down  a  man.  The 
Indians  pursued  them  for  some  distance,  but  as  Bryan's 
Station  was  their  object  the  pursuit  was  soon  abandoned. 
The  fugitives  scattered  in  every  direction  rousing  the 
country, 
ii 


1 62       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Meanwhile  the  battle  around  the  station  still  kept  up. 
Toward  evening,  however,  the  Indians  having  sustained 
severe  loss,  and  seeing  no  prospect  of  capturing  the 
place,  which  was  as  stoutly  defended  as  ever,  reluctantly 
determined  to  raise  the  siege  and  withdraw.  Before 
they  did  so  Simon  Girty  resolved  to  try  what  he  could 
effect  with  persuasion.  Cautiously  advancing  toward 
the  fort  and  taking  cover  behind  a  huge  sycamore  tree, 
he  held  a  parley.  Declaiming  his  name  and  position, 
he  advised  the  garrison  to  surrender  at  once,  promising 
immunity  and  kind  treatment  on  the  part  of  Hamilton, 
the  British  commander  at  Detroit.  His  faith  was  better 
than  Girty's,  but  that  of  both  of  them  amounted  to 
nothing. 

Girty  told  the  garrison  that  the  beleaguering  force 
would  be  supplemented  on  the  following  day  by  artillery, 
and  if  the  station  did  not  immediately  surrender  it  would 
receive  the  fate  which  had  been  meted  out  to  Martin's 
and  Ruddle's  Stations.  The  address  was  listened  to  in 
gloomy  silence.  Everybody  knew  what  had  happened 
at  those  two  stations,  and  small  wonder  that  many  a  heart 
sank  at  the  prospect. 

There  happened  to  be  in  the  fort,  however,  a  young 
man  named  Reynolds,  a  reckless  dare-devil  sort  of  a  fel- 
low, who  took  upon  himself  without  authority  the  an- 
swering of  Girty.  He  told  him  that  he  knew  perfectly 
well  who  he  was,  that  he  knew  his  character,  also;  that  he 
had  a  little  dog  that  was  so  utterly  worthless  that  he  had 
named  him  Simon  Girty,  because  he  could  think  of  no 
other  name  so  beautifully  appropriate;  that  he  didn't  be- 
lieve they  had  any  cannon,  and  that  if  they  would  just  wait 
outside  the  fort  until  the  next  day  they  would  have  the 
whole  of  Kentucky  upon  them,  and  if  they  knew  what 
they  were  about  they  would  get  away  in  short  order ! 


The  Women  of  Bryan's  Station   163 

Girty  retired  in  great  discomfiture,  followed  by  the 
laughter  of  the  Kentuckians,  and  greeted  by  the  sneers 
of  the  Indians.  It  was  a  long  and  anxious  night  they 
spent  in  the  fort  thereafter,  the  defenders  keeping  on  the 
alert  for  any  demonstration,  but  in  the  morning  the  Ind- 
ians were  gone.  They  had  decamped  as  silently  as  they 
had  approached,  the  siege  was  raised,  the  battle  was  over. 
They  had  taken  Reynolds'  advice. 

All  day  eager  settlers  from  every  direction  poured 
into  the  settlement,  and  in  their  hot  desire  to  punish 
these  Indians  they  sallied  out  soon  after  with  an  inade- 
quate force  and,  as  we  have  seen,  were  badly  defeated 
by  Campbell  and  his  allies  at  the  disastrous  battle  of 
Blue  Licks. 

IV.     The  Story  of  the  Morgans 

One  further  romantic  incident  of  the  siege  is  worthy 
of  mention.  A  man  named  Morgan  had  settled  with  his 
wife  and  child  in  a  cabin  outside  the  fort.  When  the 
Indians  appeared,  he  concealed  his  wife  in  a  recess  be- 
neath the  slab  floor  of  his  cabin,  I  surmise  perhaps  be- 
cause she  was  ill  and  it  was  impossible  for  her  to  escape. 
At  any  rate,  thinking  he  had  left  her  in  a  place  of  safety 
he  took  his  baby  in  one  hand,  grasped  his  rifle  in  the 
other,  and  broke  through  the  Indians  and  gained  the 
forest. 

Unfortunately  the  Indians  burned  the  house,  while  he 
looked  helplessly  on  from  his  place  of  concealment  with 
his  anguish  intensified  by  his  utter  inability  to  do  any- 
thing at  all.  The  Indians  discovered  him  after  a  time, 
and  he  had  a  desperate  struggle  to  get  away.  He 
reached  Lexington  at  last,  left  the  baby  there,  and  at 
once  joined  the  relief  party  which  fought  the  Indians  in 
the  corn-field. 


1 64       Border  Fights  and  Fighters       *• 

When  the  siege  was  raised  the  frantic  man  searching 
among  the 'embers  found  the  charred  remains  of  a  human 
body.  Crazed  by  his  loss  he  was  among  the  first  to 
cross  the  river  and  engage  the  Indians  at  the  battle  of 
Blue  Licks.  Recognizing  a  portion  of  his  wife's  cloth- 
ing worn  by  an  Indian,  he  killed  him  in  a  hand-to-hand 
struggle,  but  he  was  shot  and  frightfully  wounded.  Re- 
taining strength  enough  to  crawl  away  from  the  battle- 
field he  concealed  himself  in  the  wood,  lying  down  to  die. 
There  he  was  found  by  his  wife,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner  and  had  escaped  in  the  confusion  of  the  battle. 
She  dragged  him  into  a  further  place  of  concealment, 
cared  for  him  as  best  she  could,  and  when  the  Indians 
departed  after  the  battle  she  contrived  to  get  him  back 
to  the  fort  in  safety. 

The  bones  he  had  found  in  the  ashes  of  the  cabin  were 
those  of  a  wounded  Indian,  who  had  crawled  in  there 
and  died.  The  Indians  had  set  fire  to  the  house  and  the 
woman  had  been  forced  to  discover  herself.  The  sav- 
ages had  not  had  time  to  torture  her,  and  so  the  family 
was  united  once  more. 

The  men,  of  course,  conducted  themselves  heroically  in 
the  siege,  but  the  honor  of  the  defence  which  they  were 
enabled  to  make  certainly  rests  with  those  pioneer 
mothers  and  daughters  of  Kentucky.  A  monument 
around  the  spring,  the  tribute  of  the  Daughters  of  the 
American  Revolution,  one  of  the  few  that  have  been 
erected  to  women,  serves  to  commemorate  their  heroic 
self-sacrifice  and  valor,  for  it  takes  more  courage  to  go 
to  a  spring  and  get  water  in  the  face  of  four  hundred 
Indian  rifles  pointing  at  you  from  out  of  a  dark  wood, 
than  it  does  to  stand  behind  a  wall  and  fight  all  day 
long. 


PART    IV 
THE    FAR   SOUTH 

I 
The   Massacre  at  Fort   Mims 


THE    MASSACRE    AT    FORT    MIMS 

I.     The  Beginning  of  the  Creek  War 

ON  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  the  3ist  of  August, 
1813,  a  little  canoe  floated  ashore  near  Fort 
Stoddardt,  Alabama,  a  rude  frontier  stockade  on 
the  west  bank  of  the  Mobile  River,  some  twenty-five 
miles  above  the  city  of  that  name.  In  the  bottom  of  the 
canoe  lay  an  exhausted,  half-delirious  negro  woman,  a 
slave,  whose  only  name  was  Hester.  She  was  suffering 
from  a  huge,  ghastly  bullet  wound  in  her  breast.  Lifted 
by  tender  hands  from  the  bloody  canoe,  in  which  she  was 
prostrated,  she  was  carried  into  the  fort  and  questioned 
by  the  commander. 

She  told  a  tale  of  massacre  and  destruction  which 
froze  the  blood  of  the  listeners.  She  believed  herself  to 
be  the  sole  survivor  of  the  garrison,  and  the  people  who 
had  collected  at  Fort  Mims,  on  Lake  Tensaw,  some 
twenty  miles  further  up  the  river,  just  below  the  "  cut- 
off," or  the  confluence  of  the  Alabama  and  the  Tombig- 
bee,  which  thereafter  make  the  Mobile  River.  The  story 
they  heard  from  the  lips  of  the  wretched  woman,  who  had 
managed,  she  knew  not  how,  to  conceal  herself  till  night- 
fall in  the  cane  brake  and  then  escape  in  the  boat  in  which 
they  found  her,  was  one  of  the  most  appalling  recitals  of 
savage  fury  that  has  ever  been  told  in  any  of  our  Indian 
wars. 

The  great  Tecumseh,  in  the  previous  year,  had  suc- 

167 


1 68       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

ceeded  in  engaging  the  major  portion  of  the  powerful 
Creek  nation  in  behalf  of  his  Confederacy.  The  Creeks 
were  the  most  notable  of  the  southern  Indians.  For 
enterprise  and  valor,  for  progress  in  a  rude  sort  of  civili- 
zation, for  the  development  of  an  organization  which  pos- 
sessed some  of  the  properties  of  government,  they  were 
only  to  be  compared  with  the  Iroquois,  or  Six  Nations, 
in  the  north. 

Those  who  know  the  red  man  only  through  touch 
with  the  modern  Indian  of  the  plains  are  accustomed  to 
sneer  at  the  conception  of  him  which  is  exploited,  let  us 
say,  in  Cooper's  novels;  but  the  Creeks  and  the  Iroquois 
were  very  different  from  the  modern  Indian,  and  Coop- 
er's pictures,  so  far  as  these  two  peoples  are  concerned, 
do  no  violence  to  the  facts.  The  Creeks  were,  however, 
as  ruthlessly  cruel  and  bloodthirsty  in  warfare  as,  for  in- 
stance, Geronimo  and  his  Mescalero  Apaches.  The  men 
were  tall,  magnificent  specimens,  and  some  of  the  women 
are  said  to  have  been  beautiful;  I  think,  however,  that 
could  only  be  by  comparison  with  other  Indian  squaws. 
The  Creek  Nation  numbered  some  thirty  thousand,  of 
whom  at  least  seven  thousand  were  approved  warriors. 
Among  them  were  many  half-breeds,  who  inclined  either 
to  civilization  or  savagery,  as  the  case  might  be,  and 
exhibited  the  traits  of  the  white  man  or  those  of  the 
Indian,  according  to  their  rearing  and  environment. 

There  was  a  division  in  the  tribe  as  to  joining  the 
conspiracy  of  Tecumseh,  and  the  smouldering  embers  of 
a  civil  war  were  beginning  to  glow  among  them,  when 
the  War  of  1812  broke  out.  Such  an  auxiliary  for  the 
British  to  work  with,  in  conjunction  with  the  Spanish 
authorities  in  Florida,  was  not  to  be  despised.  Supplied 
with  English  guns  and  incited  by  British  rewards  offered 


The  Massacre  at  Fort  Mims     169 

for  scalps,  even  of  women  and  children,  the  great  body 
of  Creeks  declared  for  war,  although  some  remained 
friendly  to  the  Americans.  The  half-breeds,  or  men  of 
mixed  blood,  were  divided  between  the  two  sides.  The 
principal  war  chief  of  the  Indians  was  a  half-breed 
named  Weatherford,  who  was  called  in  the  Creek  lan- 
guage, "  The  Red  Warrior." 

After  a  skirmish  at  a  place  called  Burnt  Corn,  which 
resulted  in  the  defeat  of  the  settlers,  the  alarm  spread  all 
over  Alabama  and  the  frightened  inhabitants,  including 
those  half-breeds  who  were,  to  all  intents  and  purposes, 
Americans,  gathered  for  protection  in  the  little  forts  and 
stockades  which  dotted  the  country  on  every  hand. 

There  had  lived  for  many  years  in  Alabama,  near 
Lake  Tensaw,  a  wealthy  half-breed  named  Samuel  Mims. 
His  house  was  a  large  and  substantial  wooden  structure 
of  one  story,  with  several  outbuildings.  It  was  situated 
some  little  distance  from  the  water,  on  low,  sandy  ground 
surrounded  by  woods,  marshes  and  swamps,  which  on 
the  east  were  traversed  by  several  ravines  overgrown 
with  cane  brakes.  The  house  was  surrounded  by  a  low 
stockade,  made  by  driving  parallel  rows  of  open  stakes  at 
suitable  intervals,  the  spaces  between  being  filled  with 
loosely  piled  fence-rails.  At  three  and  a  half  feet  from 
the  ground  five  hundred  loop-holes  were  pierced.  The 
stockade  was  seventy  yards  square  and  enclosed  an  acre 
of  ground.  On  the  southwest  corner  on  a  slight  rise  a 
block-house  was  begun  but  never  completed.  There 
were  two  large  gates  in  the  centre  of  the  east  and  west 
faces.  From  the  north  and  south  faces  projected  small 
square  enclosures  called  bastions,  made  of  the  same 
pickets. 

Thither  at  once  resorted  all  the  inhabitants  of  the 


1 7°       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

vicinage,  and  many  small  houses  were  built  in  the  enclos- 
ure to  shelter  them.  To  them  in  the  latter  part  of  July, 
General  Claiborne,  the  United  States  military  com- 
mander of  the  territory,  sent  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  volunteers,  commanded  by  Major  Daniel  Beasley, 


I  Blockhouse. 

2.  Pickets  cut  »w«y  by  Indians. 

3  Guard's  Station. 
t Guard  House. 

5  Western  Gate. 

6  Cite  cut  tho ugh  by  I n d ians . 

7  Capt.  Bailee's  House. 
,85  trad  hams  House. 

9.  Dyers  House. 

10.  Kitchen. 

II  Mint's    House. 
li  Pandorv's  House. 
'3  Old  Gateway  Open. 
II  E  n  sign  C/IA  mbl  i  ss  Tetvl . 
if  Randon's  •• 

/«  Cape.  Middle  ton's 
17 Capt.  Jack's 


n-zo     •  - 

2.1  CaptJacKt  Company. 
ilMaj.Beane^'5  Cabin. 
£3Capt.Miaaieton'»  Company. 
^VEastern  Gate  Left  Open,  and  tohlrt 
BeAsieu  fell. 


Plan  of  Fort  Mims. 

with  Captains  Jack,  Middleton,  and  Batcheldor.  Major 
Beasley  found  a  lieutenant  and  sixteen  soldiers  in  the  fort 
and  some  seventy  other  men  who  were  organized  into  a 
battalion,  and  one  Dixon  Bailey  was  elected  their  captain. 
Most  of  the  soldiers  were  full-blooded  whites,  al- 


The  Massacre  at  Fort  Mims 

though  some  of  the  settlers  were  of  mixed  blood.  Bailey 
himself  was  a  half-breed.  There  were  nearly  six  hun- 
dred people  in  the  enclosure  now,  which  was  too  small 
to  contain  so  great  a  number  with  comfort  or  safety,  and 
Beasley  erected  a  second  stockade  some  sixty  feet  beyond 
the  east  wall  with  which  it  was  connected  on  either  side, 
forming  an  outer  enclosure,  in  which  he  stationed  the 
bulk  of  his  troops. 

II.     Careless  Defenders 

General  Claiborne  visited  the  place  soon  after  and 
charged  the  defenders  straitly  to  complete  the  block- 
house and  strengthen  the  palisades.  At  first  they  worked 
heartily  enough,  and  kept  a  fairly  vigilant  watch,  but  so 
many  false  alarms  were  brought  to  them  that  they  grew 
careless  and  indifferent  at  last.  Beasley  was  a  poor  com- 
mander, though  a  brave  man.  He  presently  allowed  the 
work  to  languish.  The  block-house  was  never  com- 
pleted, and  latterly,  except  at  night,  they  kept  no  watch. 
He  also  imprudently  weakened  his  command  by  sending 
away  small  detachments  to  garrison  other  points. 

The  summer  was  very  hot.  Many  of  the  people 
crowded  together  in  that  low,  marshy  ground  became  ill. 
On  the  29th  of  August  two  negroes  who  had  been  herd- 
ing cattle  came  rushing  back  to  the  fort  in  terror,  exclaim- 
ing that  they  had  seen  a  large  body  of  Indians.  The  fool- 
ish Beasley,  declined  to  credit  their  tale,  and,  angry  at 
the  commotion  and  alarm  their  news  had  created,  actually 
ordered  them  to  be  flogged! 

The  owner  of  one  of  the  negroes,  a  certain  Fletcher, 
refused  to  allow  his  man  to  be  whipped,  but  the  owner  of 
the  other,  making  no  objection,  the  unfortunate  negro 


Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

was  tied  to  a  stake  and  soundly  lashed.  Beasley 
shortly  informed  Fletcher  that  he  must  either  allow  his 
slave  to  be  flogged,  or  leave  the  fort  with  his  large  family 
the  next  morning.  The  alternative  was  not  to  be  thought 
of.  After  considering  it  all  night  Fletcher  reluctantly 
gave  his  consent  just  before  noon  on  Monday,  August 
3Oth,  1813,  and  the  negro  was  accordingly  triced  up  to  a 
post  preparatory  to  receiving  a  lashing. 

Meanwhile  the  first  negro  had  been  sent  out  again 
that  morning  to  herd  the  stock  as  usual,  and  had  again 
discovered  unmistakable  signs  of  Indians.  Mindful  of 
his  bitter  experience  of  the  day  before,  however,  he  fled 
to  Fort  Pierce,  a  stockade  some  miles  above  Fort  Mims, 
to  which  he  naturally  feared  to  return.  Beasley  had  sent 
out  Captain  Middleton  to  scout  before  he  had  flogged  the 
negro  on  the  preceding  afternoon,  and  that  officer  had 
promptly  returned  and  reported  that  he  had  found  noth- 
ing. 

The  morning  was  hot,  close  and  sultry,  and  the  long 
hours  slowly  dragged  along.  The  soldiers  lounged  in 
their  tents,  some  of  them  playing  cards,  or  amusing 
themselves  according  to  their  fancy;  the  company  cooks 
and  the  housewives  were  preparing  the  midday  meal 
throughout  the  enclosure,  while  over  one  hundred  little 
children  disported  themselves  in  the  open  places.  Five 
hundred  and  fifty-three  persons  were  in  the  fort  at  the 
time,  of  whom  probably  two  hundred  and  twenty-five 
were  soldiers,  two  hundred  women  and  children  and  old 
men  and  the  balance  negro  slaves. 


The  Massacre  at  Fort  Mims     173 


III.     Paying  the  Awful  Penalty 

Beasley  had  just  despatched  a  letter  (still  extant)  to 
General  Claiborne,  in  response  to  that  officer's  repeated 
cautions,  stating  that  the  fort  was  absolutely  safe,  and  he 
was  to  give  himself  no  concern  whatever  about  it,  as  the 
garrison  could  hold  it  against  all  the  Creeks  in  the  nation. 
By  some  miracle  the  messenger  reached  the  general  and 
delivered  the  letter  after  all  was  over.  At  the  time  he 
was  writing  a  great  body  of  a  thousand  Indians,  a  small 
portion  of  whom  the  two  negroes  had  seen  and  reported, 
had  actually  surrounded  the  fort  unperceived.  They  lay 
hid  in  the  forests^  or  concealed  in  the  canebrakes,  al- 
though the  most  of  them  were  crouching  beneath  the 
brush  in  the  nearest  ravine  in  front  of  the  east  gate,  to 
reach  which  they  would  be  compelled  to  pass  over  an 
open  field. 

Beasley  was  standing  in  the  door  of  his  own  house  in 
the  outer  enclosure  when  the  drums  beat  the  noonday 
mess  call.  That  was  the  prearranged  signal  for  attack. 
Instantly  the  open  field  was  covered  with  a  mass  of  "  Red 
Sticks,"  the  name  given  to  the  Creek  warriors  from  the 
red  clubs  they  always  carried  in  battle.  These,  however, 
were  armed  with  the  best  modern  muskets  as  well.  Silent 
as  death,  they  dashed  rapidly  toward  the  open  gate.  They 
had  actually  come  within  thirty  yards  of  it  before  anyone 
saw  them,  which  tells  a  tale  of  the  negligence  of  the 
guards. 

Beasley  saw  them  first.  Shouting  "  Indians !  Ind- 
ians !  "  he  ran  through  the  little  enclosure  toward  the 
great,  ponderous  east  gate,  frantically  striving  to  close  it 
in  the  face  of  the  charging  enemy,  now  yelling  madly 


174       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

and  coming  on  gallantly.  The  soil  was  sandy  and  the 
wind  had  drifted  it  against  the  gate.  With  the  strength 
of  despair,  Beasley  threw  himself  against  the  timbers.  The 
sand  held  for  a  fatal  moment.  But  the  major  bent  his 
back  and  pushed  like  mad  and  the  gate  began  slowly  to 
swing  toward  the  post.  Before  he  could  close  it  the 
foremost  Indians  threw  themselves  upon  it,  thrust  it  back, 
fell  upon  Beasley  with  tomahawks,  cut  him  down,  and 
rushed  over  his  body  toward  the  troops  in  the  outer 
enclosure. 

The  men  had  scarcely  time  to  seize  their  arms  before 
the  Indians  burst  upon  them  in  a  perfect  torrent  through 
the  open  gate.  Beasley  had  crawled  aside  and  they  heard 
his  voice  from  the  midst  of  trampling  feet,  shouting  to 
the  men  just  before  he  died,  "  For  God's  sake,  fight  on  !  " 
The  major  portion  of  the  soldiers  fled  through  the  second 
gate  into  the  vacant  part  of  the  fort  and  manned  the  wall. 
This  inner  gate  was  left  open  for  a  time,  but  was  finally 
closed.  Those  who  could  not  get  away  were  slaugh- 
tered to  a  man  in  the  outer  enclosure,  which  was  now  full 
of  Indians.  At  the  same  time  the  palisades  were  attacked 
on  all  other  sides.  The  soldiers  and  settlers  fought  des- 
perately. Many  of  the  women  took  part  in  the  defence. 
One,  Mrs.  Daniel  Bailey,  actually  thrust  a  bayonet  into 
one  man  who  played  the  craven  and  forced  him  to  get  up 
and  fight ! 

Dixon  Bailey,  the  brave  half-breed,  upon  whom  the 
command,  after  Beasley's  death,  had  devolved,  showed 
himself  a  hero.  The  Indians  under  Weatherford  were  no 
less  courageous.  The  fighting  was  so  close  that  some- 
times a  soldier  and  an  Indian  would  discharge  their  guns 
through  the  same  port-hole  at  the  same  moment  and 
both  would  be  killed.  The  carnage  on  both  sides  was 


"  The  major  bent  his  back  and  pushed  like  mad." 


The  Massacre  at  Fort  Mims     175 

fearful,  and  after  some  three  long  hours  of  the  hottest 
kind  of  fighting,  the  defenders  being  encouraged  thereto 
by  the  heroic  efforts  of  Bailey,  who  was  everywhere  ani- 
mating his  men,  the  savages  began  to  draw  off  with  the 
plunder  of  the  houses  outside  the  stockade. 

Weatherford,  riding  a  magnificent  black  horse  that 
day,  the  very  incarnation  of  a  savage  war  chieftain,  bit- 
terly protested  at  the  retreat,  and  finally  led  his  men  for- 
ward for  a  final  attack  on  the  post.  This  time  there  was 
no  withstanding  them. 

Some  of  the  houses  in  the  enclosure  were  set  on  fire 
by  burning  arrows.  The  east  gate  was  entered  by  an 
irresistible  charge.  The  west  gate  was  cut  through  with 
axes,  after  all  the  defenders  had  been  slain,  and  another 
storm  of  Indians  poured  into  the  enclosure  that  way.  The 
south  wall  was  next  gained.  The  defenders  fought  des- 
perately from  house  to  house,  while  the  roofs  were  burn- 
ing over  their  heads.  Mims'  house,  from  which,  through 
apertures  in  the  roof,  a  deadly  fire  had  been  kept  up,  was 
set  on  fire.  In  it  were  many  of  the  women  and  children, 
who  perished  miserably,  either  by  flame  if  they  stayed,  or 
by  tomahawk  or  scalping-knife  if  they  came  out.  The 
Indians  did  not  waste  blows  or  weapons  on  the  small 
children,  either.  They  killed  them  with  their  naked 
hands ! 

Soon  the  whole  enclosure,  save  the  north  bastion, 
which  was  Bailey's  particular  command,  was  filled  with 
frantic  savages.  Into  the  last  refuge  of  the  frail  little 
enclosure  of  the  bastion  poured  a  perfect  stream  of  fren- 
zied humanity,  trampling  each  other  to  death  in  their  mad 
terror.  The  place  was  packed  so  full  that  there  was 
scarcely  room  to  move  in  it,  much  less  to  defend  it.  Bai- 
ley appealed  for  someone  to  attempt  to  get  away  and 


176        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

bring  succor.  He  was  already  severely  wounded.  When 
no  one  else  volunteered  he  tried  to  go  himself  but  was 
prevented  by  his  friends.  The  place  was  entirely  sur- 
rounded now  at  any  rate. 

Those  in  the  bastion  were  forced  to  see  those  outside 
killed  in  the  most  shocking  manner.  It  is  not  possible  to 
write  of  the  barbarous  deaths  that  these  people  died. 
Weatherford  commanded,  protested,  implored,  but  he 
could  not  restrain  his  followers,  now  roused  to  a  pitch  of 
savage  madness.  They  even  threatened  his  own  life, 
and  he  was  at  last  forced  to  let  them  alone.  He  had 
loosed  the  storm;  he  could  not  control  it.  He  regretted 
the  slaughter  to  the  last  day  of  his  life. 

Presently  the  Indians  broke  into  the  bastion.  All  was 
soon  over.  Some  dozen  soldiers  tore  openings  in  the 
palisade  and  managed  to  escape  from  the  place  of  death. 
The  rest  were  slaughtered  where  they  were;  most  of 
them,  even  the  women  and  children  left,  fighting  heroi- 
cally to  the  last.  Bailey  was  among  those  who  got  away, 
but  only  for  a  short  distance  in  his  case.  He  reached  the 
swamp,  but  was  so  badly  wounded,  and  in  five  places, 
that  he  lay  down  and  died,  bidding  the  men  to  leave  him 
and  to  try  to  make  their  escape  without  him. 

The  number  of  the  slain  was  never  accurately  known, 
but  not  a  white,  or  half-breed,  man,  woman,  or  child, 
survived,  except  those  twelve  soldiers;  the  killed  certainly 
numbered  over  four  hundred  and  fifty.  The  poor  negro 
who  had  been  left  tied  to  the  post  to  be  whipped  was 
killed  in  the  first  onset.  The  only  persons  whose  lives 
were  spared  were  some  of  the  negroes  who  were  reserved 
as  slaves  by  the  warriors.  It  may  be,  or  may  not  be,  an  evi- 
dence of  their  civilization,  but  it  is  a  fact  that  many  of  the 
Creeks  owned  numbers  of  negro  slaves. 


The  Massacre  at  Fort  Mims     177 

The  fort  was  burned  to  the  ground.  The  Creeks  had 
lost  terribly  in  the  assault,  for  over  four  hundred  warriors 
out  of  the  thousand  who  had  made  up  the  party  had 
been  killed  and  many  wounded,  such  had  been  the  des- 
perate character  of  the  defence.  They  made  some  effort 
to  bury  their  own  dead,  but  soon  gave  over  the  attempt, 
and  taking  what  plunder  they  had  gained,  they  moved 
away  to  attack  other  posts. 

The  bodies  of  the  men,  women  and  children,  negroes, 
half-breeds,  whites  and  Indians,  were  left  lying  on  the 
field.  They  were  found  there  some  days  afterward  by 
Major  Kennedy  with  a  relief  expedition,  and  they  buried 
what  had  been  left  of  them  after  the  ravages  of  bird  and 
beast  in  one  common  awful  grave.  For  desperation  in 
defence,  persistency  in  attack,  and  absolute  courage  on 
the  part  of  both  parties,  the  affair  was,  and  remains,  al- 
most without  a  parallel. 

A  wave  of  indignation  and  horror  swept  over  the 
southwest,  penetrating  even  to  the  sick  chamber  of 
Andrew  Jackson,  lying  almost  helpless  from  a  ghastly 
wound  in  his  shoulder,  the  result  of  a  duel.  Rising  from 
his  bed,  suffering  agonies,  but  sustained  only  by  his  in- 
domitable will,  he  called  to  his  aid  the  militiamen  of 
Tennessee,  and  began  that  campaign  which  after  many 
hard-fought  battles  of  varying  fortune,  ended  in  the  an- 
nihilation of  the  Creek  warriors  on  the  bloody  field  of 
Tohopeka  at  the  Horse-Shoe  Bend  of  the  Alabama 
River. 

No  Indians  on  the  continent,  except  the  Iroquois,  ever 
fought  in  hand-to-hand  conflict  with  the  whites  with  such 
courage  and  success  as  these  Mobilians.  They  mani- 
fested not  a  little  of  the  spirit  of  those  Indians,  their  ances- 
tors, who,  two  hundred  and  seventy-three  years  before, 


iy8        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

had  brought  De  Soto's  expedition  to  the  verge  of  anni- 
hilation, under  that  redoubtable  warrior  Tuscaloosa.  * 
While  we  abhor  their  cruelties  we  may  at  least  admire 
their  courage. 

*  See  my  book,  Colonial  Fights  and  Fighters  :  De  Soto. 


PART  IV 
THE    FAR    SOUTH 

II 

Jackson's  Victory  at  Tohopeka 


JACKSON'S   VICTORY    AT   TOHOPEKA 

I.     The  Last  Stand  of  the  Creeks 

ON  the  morning  of  the  27th  of  March,  1814,  that 
most  redoubtable  and  successful  of  Indian  fight- 
ers, General  Andrew  Jackson,  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  two  thousand  regulars  and  volunteers,  arrived 
before  the  most  formidable  fortification  which  had  ever 
been  erected  by  savage  warriors  on  the  American  conti- 
nent. One  hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  even  the  ragged 
edges  of  civilization,  in  the  heart  of  the  Alabama  wilder- 
ness, the  Creek  Indians,  one  of  the  most  powerful  and 
intelligent  of  the  southern  savage  tribes  upon  the  conti- 
nent, had  chosen  to  make  a  final  stand  in  that  war  which 
they  had  entered  upon  at  the  instigation  of  that  most 
capable  and  ferocious  savage  Tecumseh,  and  under  the 
influence  of  the  fanatical  ravings  of  his  brother,  the 
prophet,  a  man  less  known  as  well  as  less  able,  but  possi- 
bly more  dangerous  than  the  famous  warrior. 

After  their  overwhelming  success  at  the  bloody  massa- 
cre at  Fort  Mims  on  August  3Oth,  1813,  they  had  been 
defeated  by  Coffee  at  Talluschatches  on  the  3rd  of  No- 
vember, and  most  disastrously  by  Jackson  at  Talladega 
on  the  gth  of  November.  Their  spirit,  however,  had 
remained  unbroken  by  these  reverses  and  after  the  with- 
drawal and  dispersion  of  the  American  levies,  in  a  series 
of  predatory  forays  they  had  continued  ravaging  the  bor- 

181 


1 82      Border   Fights  and    Fighters 

der.     A  determined  effort  was  needed  to  crush  them  and 
bring  them  finally  into  subjugation. 

To  Jackson  was  entrusted  this  duty.  The  Creeks  were 
immediately  aware  of  the  projected  movement  and  with 
spirit  undaunted  they  concentrated  their  forces  and  re- 
solved to  stake  their  cause  on  one  last  desperate  effort. 


Map  of  the  Horse-Shoe  Bend  and  plan  of  the  battle. 

The  spot  in  which  they  had  elected  to  make  their  stand 
was  singularly  well  adapted  for  defensive  purposes  by  the 
arrangement  of  nature. 

The  Tallapoosa  River,  an  affluent  of  the  Alabama,  is 
one  of  those  tortuous  southern  streams  which,  in  their 
many  windings,  drain  a  vast  extent  of  territory.  About 


Jackson's  Victory  at  Tohopeka   183 

the  middle  of  the  eastern  side  of  the  present  state  the  river 
bends  sharply  upon  its  course  enclosing  a  piece  of  ground 
about  one  hundred  acres  in  extent  in  the  shape  of  a  horse- 
shoe— called  from  that  fact,  To-ho-pe-ka,  by  the  Indians. 
At  the  neck  of  the  peninsula,  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
across,  the  Indians  had  erected  a  breastwork  of  logs  about 
six  feet  high  and  piled  in  zigzag  fashion  somewhat  like 
an  old-fashioned  snake  fence,  the  interspaces  being  filled 
with  smaller  timber  and  brushwood. 

By  the  construction  of  this  breastwork,  which  indicated 
a  higher  degree  of  skill  than  usually  possessed  by  sav- 
ages, who  are  supposed  to  know  nothing  about  fortifica- 
tion, an  enfilading  fire  was  secured  which  would  sweep 
the  lines.  It  has  been  surmised  by  many  writers  that  the 
character  of  the  breastwork  implies  the  work  of  a  white 
man's  brain,  but  this  is  not  a  necessary  conclusion.  The 
breastwork  had  been  pierced  with  two  rows  of  loop-holes. 

In  that  season  the  Tallapoosa  was  unfordable.  The 
Indians  had  taken  care  to  secure  all  the  canoes  on  their 
side  of  the  river  under  the  bluffs  around  the  bend,  and 
the  height  of  the  shores  presented  a  further  obstacle  to 
any  attack  from  the  rear. 

Within  the  enclosure  were  gathered  some  nine  hun- 
dred warriors,  the  flower  of  the  nation,  indeed  practically 
the  last  of  it,  with  three  hundred  women  and  children. 
Three  prophets — we  would  call  them  medicine  men 
now — were  a  not  unimportant  factor  in  the  defence. 
These,  like  other  charlatans  in  other  wars  all  over  the 
world,  had  promised  immunity  from  the  white  man's 
bullet  to  the  savage  braves.  The  promise  may  have 
added  a  certain  degree  of  intensity  to  their  determination, 
but  as  events  showed,  it  was  not  necessary  to  enable  them 
to  put  up  one  of  the  best  defences  that  the  Indians  ever 


1 84       Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

exhibited.  The  savages  were  well  provided  with  rifles 
and  muskets,  in  the  use  of  which  they  were  expert,  and 
with  ample  food  and  unlimited  water  supply,  they  confi- 
dently awaited  the  American  attack. 

The  whole  outlook,  when  Jackson  arrived  at  the  fort, 
was  sufficiently  forbidding,  yet  he  was  quick  to  see  that 
once  he  could  effect  a  lodgement  in  the  bend,  or  get  across 
the  breastworks,  the  Indians  would  be  at  his  mercy! 
They  would  be  trapped  !  The  Creeks  reasoned,  it  is 
supposed,  that  if  Jackson  succeeded  in  rushing  the  en- 
trenchment they  could  retreat  by  the  river.  Jackson 
took  care  of  that.  He  despatched  the  redoubtable  Gen- 
eral Coffee  with  seven  hundred  horsemen  by  a  circuitous 
route  to  a  ford  of  the  river  which  had  been  discovered  by 
one  of  the  friendly  Cherokees,  the  implacable  enemies 
of  the  haughty,  overbearing  Creeks.  The  cavalry  suc- 
ceeded in  gaining  the  rear  of  the  Indian  position  unob- 
served, although,  of  course,  separated  from  it  by  the  river. 
Coffee  dismounted  and  disposed  his  troops  so  they  could 
cover  every  egress  from  the  bend.  Having  done  this 
some  of  the  Cherokees,  bolder  than  the  others,  swam  the 
river,  cut  the  fastenings  of  the  canoes  and  towed  them  to 
the  other  bank. 

Meanwhile  Jackson  had  opened  fire  upon  the  breast- 
works from  an  eminence  about  eighty  yards  distant,  with 
the  two  cannon  of  his  army,  a  three  and  a  six  pounder. 
The  Indians  laughed  in  derision  as  the  little  cannon-balls 
buried  themselves  harmlessly  in  the  huge  logs  of  the  bar- 
ricade. It  was  half  after  ten  in  the  morning  when  the 
engagement  began,  and  for  several  hours,  while  Coffee 
was  making  his  detour  and  dispositions,  it  continued  with 
but  little  effect  on  either  side. 

Jackson  could  not  make  up  his  mind,  from  considera- 


Jackson's  Victory  at  Tohopeka   185 

tion  for  his  troops,  to  storm  those  formidable  breast- 
works. Death  would  meet  a  great  many  of  them  in  the 
attempt.  His  men,  less  thoughtful  than  he,  clamored  to 
be  allowed  to  go  forward,  but  the  general  with  his  usual 
hard-headed  common-sense,  refused  to  be  influenced  by 
the  popular  opinion  of  his  army. 

This  hesitation  arose  from  no  excess  of  caution  or  lack 
of  courage  on  the  part  of  Jackson.  He  was  without 
doubt  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  intrepid  men,  and  one 
of  the  hardest  fighters,  that  ever  lived,  and  he  proved  his 
courage,  moral  and  physical,  in  hundreds  of  ways.  *  He 
was  even  then  suffering  from  a  terrible  wound,  which  he 
had  received  in  a  duel  and  which  would  have  incapaci- 
tated any  ordinary  man  from  duty  for  years  to  come.  His 
shoulder  had  been  dreadfully  shattered,  so  much  so,  that 
during  this  campaign  he  could  scarcely  bear  even  the 
weight  of  a  coat-sleeve  on  it,  and  in  all  his  military  expe- 
riences he  was  never  able  to  wear  the  heavy  bullion  epau- 
lets of  his  high  rank. 

It  must  have  been  a  source  of  grief  and  humiliation  to 
him  that  in  a  private  quarrel  he  had  expended  his  blood 
and  strength,  now  so  sorely  needed  in  the  service  of  his 
country.  He  kept  up  in  this  instance  by  the  exercise  of 
that  indomitable  will  which  he  possessed  in  such  large 
measure.  It  was  with  no  thought  of  himself,  therefore, 
that  he  restrained  his  men  through  the  long  hours  of  that 
battle. 

About  noon,  however,  the  main  army  heard  from  Cof- 
fee. After  his  success  in  obtaining  possession  of  the 
canoes  he  determined  to  send  over  a  party  to  beat  up 
the  quarters  of  the  Indians  behind  the  breastworks. 

*See   my  book,  American  Fights   and  Fighters.-     The  Battle  of   New 
Orleans. 


1 86       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Colonel  Morgan  was  detailed  for  this  duty.  Accompa- 
nied by  a  small  body  of  men  he  passed  the  river,  set  fire  to 
the  Indian  huts  and  made  a  brilliant  diversion  in  the  rear. 
His  band  was  too  small  for  a  sustained  engagement  and 
the  attempt  was  only  partially  successful,  for  while  the 
Indians  detached  parties  from  their  front  line  to  meet  the 
new  danger,  and  succeeded  in  driving  off  Morgan,  they 
still  held  to  their  breastwork  in  force.  However,  the 
whole  force  had  been  disorganized  by  the  occurrence  and 
now,  if  ever,  was  the  time  for  an  advance.  Jackson  gave 
the  signal  which  had  been  waited  for. 

II.     The  Heroism  of  Young  Sam  Houston 

It  was  about  half  after  twelve  when  the  drummers  beat 
the  long  roll.  The  eager  men  took  up  the  advance  and 
scrambled  through  the  broken  and  heavily  timbered 
ground  on  the  run.  The  Thirty-ninth  United  States 
under  Colonel  Williams  took  one  side,  and  the  East 
Tennessee  brigade  of  volunteers  under  General  Bunch, 
the  other.  Jackson  on  horseback  led  them.  They  suc- 
ceeded in  reaching  the  rampart  which  towered  above 
their  heads,  though  not  without  severe  loss  on  the  way. 
When  they  reached  the  breastwork  there  was  some  hesi- 
tation. The  men  poked  their  guns  through  the  port- 
holes and  fired  point  blank  at  the  Indians,  who  returned 
the  fire. 

This  interchange  of  shots  was  productive  of  some  loss, 
but  nothing  whatever  could  be  determined  by  it.  Some- 
thing had  to  be  done  and  done  quickly.  Two  officers, 
realizing  the  necessity,  leaped  for  the  top  of  the  breast- 
works, calling  upon  the  others  to  follow  them.  The 
first  one  was  Major  L.  P.  Montgomery  of  the  Thirty- 


Jackson's  Victory  at  Tohopeka    187 

ninth  Infantry.  He  had  scarcely  reached  the  top  when 
he  pitched  forward,  dead,  a  bullet  in  his  forehead — the 
first  man  over !  The  second  man  was  Ensign  Sam  Hous- 
ton of  Tennessee. 

As  Houston  gained  the  top  he  stood  for  a  moment  in 
full  view.  Rifles  cracked,  bullets  sang  about  him,  but 
left  him  untouched.  An  arrow,  however,  made  a  deep 
wound  in  his  thigh.  Sword  in  hand  Houston,  then  but 
twenty  years  old,  leaped  down  amid  the  Indians.  He 
was  at  once  followed  by  a  portion  of  his  men.  On  the 
other  flank  the  volunteers  emulated  the  example  of  the 
regulars  and  the  breastwork  was  finally  gained.  The 
Indians  were  swept  from  the  line  of  defence  to  which  they 
had  clung  so  stubbornly. 

But  the  savages  were  by  no  means  defeated.  The  bend 
was  heavily  wooded  and  filled  with  brush-heaps  and  log- 
huts,  and  every  house,  every  brush-heap,  every  tree 
clump,  every  copse,  became  a  rallying  point  for  defence. 
The  woods  were  filled  with  flame  and  smoke  into  which 
the  American  soldiers  plunged  to  get  at  their  red  foemen. 

Conscious  of  his  wound  at  last  Houston  leaned  against 
the  breastwork  and  begged  the  lieutenant  of  his  company 
to  pull  out  the  arrow,  which  was,  of  course,  barbed  and 
firmly  imbedded  in  the  flesh.  The  lieutenant  made  two 
ineffectual  efforts  to  pull  out  the  arrow,  but  failed  on 
account  of  the  barbs.  Maddened  by  the  pain  Houston 
raised  his  sword  at  the  officer  and  vowed  he  would  cut 
him  down  if  he  failed  a  third  time.  Under  this  stimulus 
the  lieutenant  jerked  the  arrow  from  the  wound.  It  was, 
of  course,  followed  by  a  gush  of  blood  which  nearly  left 
the  boy  helpless. 

He  scrambled  over  the  breastworks  again  and  went 
back  to  the  surgeons  in  the  rear.  Jackson  saw  him  while 


1 88        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

his  wound  was  being  dressed  and  ordered  him  to  retire 
from  the  action.  The  boy  begged  and  implored  permis- 
sion of  the  general  to  return  when  the  flow  of  blood  was 
stanched,  but  Jackson  curtly  refused  his  plea.  The  bat- 
tle was  still  raging  all  over  the  bend.  It  was  too  much 
for  Houston  to  stand.  As  soon  as  he  was  released  by  the 
surgeon  he  deliberately  disobeyed  his  orders,  scrambled 
over  the  breastworks,  found  his  company,  and  continued 
the  fight. 

It  was  nearly  all  over  but  the  killing.  Surrounded  by 
overwhelming  numbers  of  soldiers  there  was  nothing  left 
for  the  Creeks  to  do  but  to  die,  and  they  died  game.  No 
one  asked  for  quarter,  no  one  appears  to  have  thought 
of  surrender.  As  they  were  forced  from  line  to  line, 
from  place  to  place,  those  alive  at  last  reached  the  river 
bank.  They  were  appalled  to  find  their  canoes  gone,  but 
plunged  dauntlessly  into  the  ford,  only  to  be  met  by  the 
cool,  steady,  withering  fire  from  Coffee's  riflemen,  lining 
the  banks  on  the  farther  side. 

Jackson  was  not  a  merciless  man,  as  he  was  popularly 
supposed  to  have  been,  and  he  did  his  utmost  to  stop  the 
carnage,  but  on  that  smoke-covered,  blood-saturated  pen- 
insula, in  that  almost  impenetrable  tangle  of  primeval 
forest,  it  was  impossible  to  get  hold  of  his  men;  and  the 
Indians  themselves,  in  their  proud  disdain  to  ask  for  quar- 
ter, in  their  determination  to  continue  the  fight,  rendered 
his  efforts  abortive.  The  battle  stopped  about  three 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  It  stopped  because  one  side 
had  been  wiped  out.  There  were  no  more  Indians  to  be 
conquered,  but  in  its  ending  was  seen  its  most  dramatic 
feature. 

A  party  of  desperate  Indians  took  position  in  a  deep 
ravine  near  the  river  bank  which  had  been  covered  by 


They  plunged  dauntlessly  into  the  ford,  only  to  be 
met  by  the  fire  from  Coffee's  riflemen  on  the  farther 
side." 


Jackson's  Victory  at  Tohopeka    189 

heavy  logs.  There  appeared  to  be  only  one  way  to  get 
at  them  and  that  was  by  a  rush  at  the  entrance,  which  was 
fully  covered  by  the  savage  rifles.  Jackson  called  for 
volunteers  to  storm  the  place.  No  one  responded  to  his 
appeal  until,  with  his  usual  impetuous  headlong  valor, 
young  Sam  Houston,  in  spite  of  his  wound,  sprang  to  the 
front. 

Seizing  a  musket  and  calling  upon  the  men  to  follow 
him  he  made  a  rush  at  the  entrenchment.  The  men  made 
a  forward  movement  but  stopped  after  going  a  few  feet, 
and  Houston,  not  noticing  that  he  was  unsupported,  ran 
forward  alone,  raising  his  piece  to  fire  as  he  approached. 
He  received  the  entire  discharge  of  that  last  desperate 
band  of  Indians.  As  he  neared  the  entrance  to  the  ravine 
two  bullets  struck  him,  one  in  the  arm,  the  other  in  the 
shoulder.  His  musket  fell  from  his  hand  and  he  stood 
helpless  in  this  dangerous  position. 

Seeing  at  last  that  he  was  unsupported  he  deliberately 
turned  around,  still  under  fire,  walked  back  out  of  range 
to  his  soldiers,  and  fell  helpless.  No  one  else  tried  to 
rush  that  position.  The  Americans  found  means  to  set 
fire  to  the  covering  logs,  thus  forcing  the  Indians  out  into 
the  open,  where  they  were  killed  as  fast  as  they  appeared. 

The  battle  was  over.  Of  the  nine  hundred  warriors 
who  had  manned  the  place  five  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
were  killed  outright  and  their  bodies  were  found  where 
they  had  fallen.  There  do  not  seem  to  have  been  any 
wounded  to  speak  of,  at  least  the  writers  make  no  men- 
tion of  them.  It  is  estimated  that  over  two  hundred  were 
shot  or  drowned  in  attempting  to  cross  the  river  and 
probably  nearly  all  of  the  few  who  succeeded  in  getting 
over  perished  in  the  surrounding  woods,  through  which 
the  American  soldiers  ranged  for  some  time,  taking  pot 


190       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

shots  at  every  Indian  they  saw.  The  fighting  force  of 
the  tribe  was  blotted  out  then  and  forever.  There  was 
no  more  Creek  war,  for  there  were  no  more  Creeks. 

The  Americans  had  paid  a  high  price  for  their  victory, 
however,  for  the  killed  and  wounded  numbered  over  two 
hundred.  Among  the  most  seriously  wounded  was 
young  Sam  Houston,  who  had  so  distinguished  himself 
on  that  day.  When  he  was  brought  back  to  camp  the 
surgeons,  deeming  his  wounds  mortal,  paid  little  atten- 
tion to  him,  devoting  themselves  to  those  whom  they 
thought  they  had  a  chance  of  saving.  He  lay  all  night 
on  the  ground  with  little  or  no  care.  They  did  extract 
one  bullet,  but  made  no  attempt  to  probe  for  the  other. 

In  the  morning,  finding  him  still  alive  to  their  great 
surprise,  they  put  him  on  a  rude  litter,  improvised  out  of 
trees  and  branches,  and  carried  him  seventy  miles  to  Fort 
Williams.  He  survived  this  journey,  and  the  fact  that 
he  had  done  so  gave  the  surgeons  an  idea  that  probably 
he  might  be  worth  looking  after.  He  was  attended  at 
Fort  Williams  with  such  rude  surgery  as  the  frontier 
afforded  and  after  some  time  removed  to  another  post. 

Two  months  after  the  battle  he  reached  his  home  in 
west  Tennessee,  after  a  journey  of  several  hundred  miles 
in  a  horse  litter  !  He  was  so  emaciated  by  his  terrible 
hardships,  his  face  was  so  changed  from  the  effects  of  his 
unhealed  wounds — and  they  remained  unhealed  to  the 
end  of  his  life,  by  the  way — that  his  own  mother  did  not 
recognize  him.  But,  as  we  shall  see,  he  lived  to  take  part 
in  another  more  important  and  more  famous  battle,  two 
decades  later,  in  which  he  was  the  commander  instead 
of  a  subaltern. 


PART  IV 
THE    FAR   SOUTH 

III 

When  the  Seminoles   Fought  for  Freedom 


WHEN     THE     SEMINOLES      FOUGHT 
FOR    FREEDOM 

I.     The  Injustice  of  the  United  States 

TO  put  all  the  Indian  wars  in  which  the  United 
States  has  engaged  under  one  censure,  or  to 
include  them  in  one  category,  is  unscientific, 
because  it  takes  no  account  of  the  facts.  Some  of  the 
wars  were  as  justifiable  as  any  which  have  ever  been 
waged  by  our  people.  Some  of  them  were  brought 
upon  the  Indians  by  their  own  deliberate  actions.  For 
the  war  of  the  Apaches  under  Geronimo  upon  the  United 
States  no  defence  of  the  Indians  whatever  can  be  urged. 
Nor  is  there  much  to  be  said,  to  use  an  older  instance,  in 
behalf  of  the  Creeks,  who  commenced  their  famous  war 
by  the  Battle  of  Burnt  Corn  and  the  Massacre  at  Fort 
Mims. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  is  no  justification  for  the 
United  States  for — to  cite  a  modern  illustration — the  Nez 
Perces  war,  and  there  is  but  little  for  that  in  which  the 
following  incidents  occurred. 

The  Seminoles  of  Florida  and  southern  Georgia  were 
among  the  ablest  and  bravest  Indians  on  the  continent. 
The  name  means  "  runaway,"  and  they  were  mainly  of 
the  famous  Creek  stock  which  had  furnished  many 
instances  of  capacity  and  courage.  They  were  leavened 
by  the  remnant  of  the  ancient  aborigines  of  Florida  who 
13  193 


194       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

had  escaped  the  inevitable  extermination  attendant  upon 
Spanish  occupation.  They  were  a  small  tribe,  probably 
never  able  to  put  more  than  two  or  three  thousand  war- 
riors in  the  field. 

Their  country  was  to  the  southern  states  after  the  war 
of  1812  just  what  Oklahoma  and  the  Indian  Territory 
were  to  the  western  states  a  few  years  since.  Nominally 
under  the  government  of  Spain,  which  pretended  to  do 
little  and  could  do  less  in  keeping  order,  their  country 
was  the  refuge  of  every  outlaw  and  vagabond  who 
wanted  to  escape  from  the  law  and  justice ;  and  especially 
was  it  a  convenient  asylum  for  the  fugitive  slave. 

The  negroes  by  no  means  gained  their  freedom  among 
the  Seminoles,  but  they  enjoyed  a  quasi-liberty  which 
made  their  condition  much  more  tolerable  than  that  of 
complete  servitude.  And  when  to  this  state  of  affairs 
were  added  facilities  for  wild  and  savage  life,  to  which 
their  natural  inclination  directed  them,  it  is  not  strange 
that  many  of  them  embraced  the  opportunity  for  change, 
and  crossed  the  line  as  they  had  or  could  make  a 
chance. 

There  was  constant  friction  back  and  forth  between 
parties  of  slave-catchers,  officers  of  the  law,  and  the 
Indians.  When  the  territory  was  ceded  to  the  United 
States  in  1821,  after  Jackson's  vigorous  foray,  conditions 
became  even  more  intolerable.  Whatever  may  be  said 
of  the  rights  and  wrongs  of  the  situation,  never  in  the  his- 
tory of  the  world  has  it  been,  and  I  presume  never  will  it 
be,  that  a  vast  body  of  fertile  and  arable  land  suitable 
for  settlement  could  be  withheld  from  a  people  who  were 
willing  to  go  in  and  cultivate  it,  in  the  interests  of  those 
who  simply  wished  to  retain  it  as  a  game  preserve,  and 
who  were  unable  or  unwilling  to  use  it  themselves.  A 


Seminoles  Fought  for  Freedom    195 

rude  tribal  government  will  not  be  permitted  to  exist  in 
contravention  to  a  civilized  administration.  The  weak 
have  always  had  to  go  to  the  wall;  whether  they  always 
will  is  a  question.  But  there  are  ways  and  ways,  and 
the  United  States  chose  a  bad  way  and  paid  for  it. 

It  was  proposed  to  remove  the  Seminoles  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  the  government  paying  them  a  small  sum  for 
the  lands  thus  opened  for  white  settlement,  promising 
them  an  annuity  for  a  short  time,  and  further  agreeing  to 
assume  the  expenses  of  transportation.  After  much  per- 
suasion the  Seminoles,  who  had  already  been  crowded 
down  into  what  is  now  Florida,  at  last  agreed  to  go,  at 
least  a  portion  of  them  did;  but  to  make  a  long  story 
short,  when  the  time  came  for  signing  the  treaty  and 
starting  the  exodus,  only  a  few  of  them  were  willing  to 
leave. 

Now  the  land  by  ancient  usage  and  long  occupation, 
belonged  to  the  Seminoles.  The  United  States  had  no 
vested  right  to  take  it  from  them  or  to  force  them  to 
leave  against  their  will,  yet  that  is  what  the  United  States 
proceeded  to  do.  Matters  came  to  a  crisis  in  November, 
1836,  when  Charlie  Amathla,  a  chief  who  had  sold  his 
lands  and  received  his  stipend,  agreeing  to  go,  was  shot  by 
a  party  under  the  leadership  of  Micanopy  and  Osceola. 

Micanopy  was  the  head  chief  of  the  Seminoles.  Osceola 
was  a  half-breed,  the  son  of  an  Englishman  named  Powell. 
He  had  been  reared  with  the  tribe,  however,  and  was  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  an  Indian.  He  was  the  most 
implacable  and  persistent,  as  well  as  the  ablest,  antago- 
nist of  the  United  States  among  the  Seminoles,  and  his 
talents  for  war,  his  administrative  and  executive  ability, 
speedily  raised  him  to  a  position  of  the  first  importance. 
He  had  many  noble  qualities  and  for  an  Indian  he  stands 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

upon  a  very  high  plane,  although  he  was  not  altogether 
the  magnanimous  hero  which  popular  imagination  de- 
picts him. 

For  instance,  when  they  found  the  American  gold 
which  Amathla  had  received  for  his  lands  upon  his  person 
after  they  had  murdered  him,  Osceola  would  not  permit 
his  band  to  appropriate  any  portion  of  it,  but  threw  it 
away,  saying  that  it  was  blood-money  and  that  its  pos- 
session would  invite  disaster! 

One  dramatic  incident  in  his  career  has  often  been 
repeated.  When  he  was  asked  with  other  chiefs  to  sign 
a  treaty  agreeing  to  the  translation  of  the  tribe  beyond 
the  Mississippi,  he  walked  to  the  table,  drew  a  knife  and 
drove  it  through  the  parchment  by  a  blow  of  his  powerful 
arm,  remarking  grimly  that  thus  and  thus  only  would  he 
sign  the  treaty. 

The  United  States,  being  fully  determined  to  remove 
the  Seminoles  willy-nilly,  Osceola  promptly  began  hostil- 
ities. Before  they  got  through  with  him  and  his  the 
country  paid  a  price  for  Florida  which  staggered  human- 
ity— humanity  being  more  easily  staggered  in  those  days 
than  now.  The  war  was  protracted  by  these  two  or 
three  thousand  Seminole  warriors  through  seven  years. 
It  cost  the  United  States  twenty  million  dollars  and  the 
lives  of  fifteen  hundred  regular  soldiers  and  certainly 
more  than  as  many  of  the  settlers  and  volunteers. 

Reputations  were  made  and  lost — the  latter,  mainly — 
by  successive  commanders,  and  Osceola  was  finally  capt- 
ured by  an  act  of  the  blackest  treachery.  This  was 
nothing  less  than  a  flagrant  violation  of  a  safe  conduct 
and  a  flag  of  truce,  by  General  Jessup,  of  the  U.  S.  Army, 
who  had  invited  a  conference  with  the  chiefs,  promising 
them  absolute  liberty  to  go  as  they  had  come,  and  who 


Seminoles  Fought  for  Freedom   19? 

seized  Osceola  forcibly,  when  he  trusted  his  person  to 
American  honor.  The  dauntless  chief  was  thrown  into 
prison  and  died  at  Fort  Moultrie  of  grief  and  despair, 
after  a  short  captivity. 

In  the  end,  of  course,  the  Seminoles  were  defeated. 
The  bulk  of  those  who  were  left  were  sent  beyond  the 
Mississippi  and  a  few  who  were  harmless  were  allowed  to 
remain  in  Florida.  The  country  was  at  last  open  to  set- 
tlement. 

The  Indians  were  able  to  protract  the  contest  for  seven 
years,  first,  on  account  of  their  splendid  qualities  as  irreg- 
ular fighters,  and  second,  by  the  almost  inaccessible  char- 
acter of  the  Everglades  to  which  they  repaired.  They 
were  not  beaten  until  the  warriors  were  practically  exter- 
minated. In  many  respects  their  superb  fighting  reminds 
us  of  that  of  the  Boers  in  South  Africa.  Their  magnifi- 
cent valor  and  their  desperate  determination,  the  capac- 
ity of  their  chiefs,  and  the  consecration  of  their  warriors, 
sustained  them  to  the  end.  Right  was  made  only  by 
might,  in  this  instance. 

II.     The  Massacre  of  Dade  and  his  Men 

The  most  terrible  happening  during  the  war  was 
the  occurrence  which  practically  began  it,  and  which 
is  known  as  "  The  Dade  Massacre."  The  word 
"  massacre "  is  a  very  easy  one  to  bruit  about,  but 
how  a  body  of  troops  who  are  surprised  by  an  enemy 
in  war  time  and  who  fight  without  asking  quarter,  until 
they  are  all  killed,  can  be  said  to  be  massacred,  in  an 
invidious  sense,  is  an  open  question.  However,  to  the 
story. 

In  the  fall  of  1836,  there  were  some  five  hundred 


i98       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

United  States  regular  troops  in  Florida,  ten  companies 
in  all;  one  company  at  St.  Augustine,  six  at  Fort  King 
in  the  centre  of  the  state,  nearest  the  scene  of  hostilities, 
and  three  at  Fort  Brooke  on  Hillsboro  Bay,  near  what  is 
now  known  as  Tampa.  Two  companies  were  ordered 
from  Fort  Brooke  on  the  i6th  of  December,  to  meet 
a  force  from  Fort  King  near  the  forks  of  the  Withlacoo- 
chee  River,  or  Ouithlacoochee,  as  it  used  to  be  spelled, 
in  order  to  undertake  a  punitive  expedition. 

To  have  taken  one  hundred  men  away  from  Fort 
Brooke  would  have  left  it  practically  defenceless.  The 
commander,  therefore,  did  not  obey  the  order  of  General 
Clinch,  the  commander-in-chief  in  Florida,  until  a  re-en- 
forcement of  forty  men  under  the  command  of  Major 
Francis  L.  Dade  reached  him  from  Key  West.  Dade  was 
a  captain  and  brevet  major  in  the  Fourth  Infantry,  the 
same  regiment  which  had,  under  Boyd,  fought  so  gal- 
lantly at  Tippecanoe  twenty-five  years  before. 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  the  expeditionary  force  was 
made  up.  Drafts  from  Dade's  Fourth  Infantry  men  were 
made  to  complete  two  full  companies  of  fifty  men  each 
of  the  Second  Artillery  and  the  Third  Infantry,  com- 
manded by  Captains  Gardiner  and  Frazer  respectively, 
with  Lieutenants  Bassinger,  Henderson,  Mudge  and 
Keais,  and  Assistant  Surgeon  Gatlin,  as  their  subordi- 
nates. Captain  Gardiner  was  to  command  the  expedi- 
tion, but  on  the  morning  of  the  start  Major  Dade  dis- 
covered that  Captain  Gardiner's  wife  was  seriously  ill 
and  he  therefore  volunteered  to  lead  the  party  so  that 
Captain  Gardiner  could  remain  at  the  post  to  care  for 
his  wife. 

The  offer  was  accepted  by  the  grateful  captain  and  the 
party,  comprising  one  hundred  and  nine  effectives  and  a 


Seminoles  Fought  for  Freedom    199 

Spanish  negro  guide,  set  out,  carrying  ten  days'  provi- 
sions and  accompanied  by  one  six-pounder  drawn  by  four 
oxen  and  one  light  horse  wagon.  The  departure  was 
taken  at  6  A.M.  on  the  24th  inst. 

A  short  time  after  they  left  the  post  Captain  Gardiner 
learned  that  a  comfortable  transport  was  to  sail  imme- 
diately for  Key  West,  and  as  members  of  his  wife's  fam- 
ily and  other  friends  were  stationed  there  at  the  time,  it 
was  decided  that  it  would  be  advisable  to  send  Mrs.  Gar- 
diner thither  on  the  transport.  Accordingly  they  placed 
her  aboard  the  ship,  and  her  husband  bade  her  farewell, 
galloped  after  the  detachment,  which  had  been  delayed 
by  the  breaking  down  of  the  ox  train,  and  succeeded  in 
reaching  it  that  evening,  raising  the  muster  to  one  hun- 
dred and  ten  officers  and  men.  It  was  a  pity  Gardiner 
had  not  gone  with  his  poor  wife. 

Dade  had  halted  his  advance,  sent  back  for  horses  to 
draw  the  cannon,  and  when  they  were  provided  marched 
on.  The  troops  progressed  slowly  toward  the  designated 
rendezvous.  It  took  them  four  days  to  make  sixty-five 
miles.  They  were  under  Indian  surveillance  from  the 
start.  It  was  afterward  learned  that  their  guide  was  a 
traitor  who  had  betrayed  the  route,  and  the  Seminoles 
had  resolved  to  intercept  them.  The  usual  precautions 
were  observed,  however,  on  the  march  and  the  camps 
were  made  carefully  and  thoroughly  protected  by  sen- 
tries. 

They  were  not  molested,  though  conscious  of  observa- 
tion, until  the  28th  of  December.  They  had  crossed  the 
fork  of  the  Withlacoochee  and  were  marching  along  the 
trail  which  served  as  a  road.  The  ground  was  an  open 
barren.  On  one  side,  however,  there  was  a  small  pond 
surrounded  by  a  stretch  of  swamp  overgrown  with  grass 


200        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

five  feet  high  and  interspersed  with  scrubby  palmettos. 
On  the  left  side  of  the  road  the  ground,  save  for  the  pine 
trees,  was  open  and  unencumbered. 

Here  the  Indians  had  chosen  to  attack.  They  wished 
and  expected  to  annihilate  the  detachment,  and  they 
selected  a  place  which  offered  the  Americans  no  conceal- 
ment, so  that  none  of  them  could  get  away.  At  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning  the  advance  came  slowly  trailing 
up  the  road. 

Osceola  had  intended  to  direct  the  attack  in  person,  but 
he  was  busy  the  day  before,  killing  General  Thompson, 
the  Indian  agent,  his  aides  and  the  other  settlers,  and  did 
not  reach  the  scene  of  the  battle  until  long  after  it  was 
over.  The  Indians,  however,  were  ably  led  by  Micanopy. 
Some  two  hundred  of  them  lay  hidden  in  the  tall  grass 
overlooking  the  road  which  passed  close  to  them.  They 
had  received  strict  orders  from  their  chief  not  to  fire  on 
any  account  until  he  gave  the  signal,  which  would  be  the 
discharge  of  his  own  piece. 

There  do  not  seem  to  have  been  any  flankers  thrown 
out  on  this  occasion.  The  place  was  the  most  unlikely 
one  for  an  ambuscade  that  could  have  been  conceived. 
There  were  numberless  spots  on  the  march  where  they 
might  have  been  assaulted,  narrow  defiles,  thick  woods 
enclosed  by  impassable  morasses,  but  here  the  country  on 
one  side  was  open  and  on  the  other  the  grass  would  have 
afforded  cover  to  no  force  but  an  Indian  one. 

In  high  spirits  the  troops  marched  along.  Captain 
Frazer  and  Lieutenant  Mudge  led  the  advance,  which 
seems  to  have  been  strung  out  in  a  long  line.  After  them 
came  Major  Dade  with  the  main  body  with  the  six- 
pounder  and  the  wagons  in  the  midst.  With  cool  and 
terrible  patience  Micanopy  waited  until  the  whole  line 


Seminoles  Fought  for  Freedom    201 

was  under  the  guns  of  his  troops.  Taking  careful  and 
deliberate  aim  at  Dade  he  shot  him  dead. 

Instantly  the  grass  was  alive  with  smoke  and  fire.  Over 
half  of  the  American  force  was  shot  down  at  the  first  vol- 
ley. Captain  Frazer  was  instantly  killed  and  Lieutenant 
Mudge  was  mortally  wounded.  Lieutenant  Henderson 
had  his  left  arm  broken,  and  Lieutenant  Keais  both  arms 
broken.  Captain  Gardiner,  Lieutenant  Bassinger  and 
Dr.  Gatlin  were  the  only  officers  unhurt. 

The  suddenness  of  this  appalling  attack  with  the  terri- 
ble losses  consequent  upon  it,  to  the  credit  of  the  soldiers, 
be  it  said,  in  no  wise  disorganized  them.  There  was 
no  panic,  the  men  abandoned  the  road  instantly  and 
took  to  the  trees  which  abounded,  in  true  Indian  fashion, 
and  poured  a  heavy  fire  upon  the  Seminoles.  For  some 
forty  minutes  the  battle  raged  furiously,  the  Americans 
husbanding  their  fire  and  not  delivering  it  until  they 
caught  sight  of  an  enemy,  when  the  Indians  actually 
withdrew. 

Hastily  collecting  the  wounded  who  could  be  moved 
Captain  Gardiner,  who  seems  to  have  acted  with  great 
courage,  moved  back  a  short  distance,  bringing  with  him 
the  six-pounder,  which  had  been  rapidly  served  by  Lieu- 
tenant Bassinger.  He  had  between  forty  or  fifty  men 
able  to  continue  the  battle.  Instantly  they  set  to  work 
to  fell  trees  to  make  a  breastwork  which  he  drew  out  in 
the  form  of  a  triangle. 

They  all  worked  with  fervent  desperation  but  did  not 
succeed  in  raising  the  breastwork  more  than  three  small 
tree  trunks  high  when  the  Indians  appeared  once  more. 
They  had  been  re-enforced  and  returned  to  the  attack. 
The  battle  recommenced  with  fury.  The  other  side  of 
the  road  where  the  grass  was  thickest  was  a  little  higher 


202       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

than  the  place  where  the  troops  had  attempted  to  make 
the  breastwork  in  their  haste,  which,  unfortunately,  was 
in  a  slight  depression.  The  Indians  who  surrounded  the 
little  fort  on  all  sides  easily  commanded  it  with  their  fire. 

Lieutenant  Henderson,  in  spite  of  his  broken  arm,  con- 
tinued to  load  and  fire  his  musket  until  he  was  shot  down. 
Lieutenant  Keais  lay  in  the  breastwork,  leaning  his  head 
against  a  log,  helpless  with  his  broken  arms  slung  by  a 
handkerchief,  until  he  was  shot  again  and  killed.  Dr. 
Gatlin,  who  had  two  double-barrelled  shotguns  which 
he  used  effectively,  was  finally  killed  by  a  bullet  in  the 
head.  Captain  Gardiner  was  mortally  wounded  and  fell, 
crying,  "  I  can  give  you  no  more  orders,  lads.  Do  your 
best!" 

Lieutenant  Bassinger,  who  had  fought  his  piece  of 
artillery  which  was  exposed  on  the  outside  of  the  fort 
until  every  man  detailed  to  it  had  been  killed,  and  him- 
self seriously  wounded,  crawled  into  the  fort  thereafter 
and  continued  the  battle  until  every  man  had  been  killed 
or  wounded.  When  the  Indians  perceived  that  the  fort 
was  silent,  about  two  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  they  ceased 
firing  and  swarmed  into  it. 

They  took  many  scalps  but  did  not  mutilate  the  bodies 
nor  even  rob  them,  except  to  take  the  officers'  coats. 
Almost  immediately  they  left  the  scene  of  action.  The 
reason  for  their  sudden  departure  was  that  they  expected 
General  Clinch's  men,  the  troops  from  Fort  King,  which 
they  must  prepare  to  meet  at  once. 

III.     After  the  Battle  ; 

After  they  left  the  battle-field,  however,  a  party  of  some 
fifty  negroes  appeared  who  began  to  kill  and  plunder 


OJ 

13 


<u 
> 

'So 


Seminoles  Fought  for  Freedom  203 

the  bodies.  Lieutenant  Bassinger,  the  only  officer  left 
alive,  had,  with  some  of  the  others,  lain  perfectly 
quiet  while  the  Indians  were  in  the  fort,  feigning  death. 
When  he  perceived  the  intent  of  the  negroes  he  strug- 
gled to  his  knees  and  begged  for  his  life  and  the  lives  of 
his  men.  With  brutal  wickedness  they  cut  him  down 
with  hatchets  and  mutilated  his  body  in  a  fearful  manner. 
They,  too,  were  in  a  hurry,  and  three  living  private  sol- 
diers escaped  their  attention.  Two  others  had  managed 
to  get  away  during  the  confusion  of  the  fight,  both 
severely  wounded. 

Ransom  Clark,  one  of  the  living,  had  been  wounded 
five  times.  His  head  had  been  struck  by  a  bullet  and 
he  was  covered  with  blood.  One  of  the  negroes  had 
seized  him  to  kill  him,  but  another  crying  that  the  man 
was  already  dead  as  his  head  was  blown  open,  the  negro 
dropped  him  to  the  ground.  He  and  the  others  had 
to  lie  perfectly  still,  not  daring  to  give  vent  even  to 
their  anguish.  Finally  at  evening  one  of  the  men  left 
alive  struggled  to  his  feet  and  darted  across  the  little 
breastwork.  He  was  instantly  shot  dead  by  a  lurking 
Indian. 

Ransom  Clark  and  a  man  named  Cony,  the  remaining 
two,  waited  until  dark  and  then  started  to  return  to  Fort 
Brooke;  Fort  King  was  much  nearer,  but  they  did  not 
know  the  way,  and  the  Indians  were  between  them  and 
the  troops.  The  progress  of  the  two  wounded  men  was 
attended  by  the  most  excruciating  agony  and  was  fright- 
fully slow.  They  were  so  badly  injured  that  they  were 
compelled  to  crawl  the  greater  portion  of  the  way  on 
their  hands  and  knees. 

The  next  morning  a  mounted  Indian  observed  the  two 
fugitives.  As  the  only  chance  for  life  they  divided.  The 


204       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Indian  pursued  Cony  and  shot  him,  but  Ransom  Clark, 
urged  to  impossible  exertions  by  the  desperation  of  his 
case  escaped  from  him.  After  three  days  he  had  dragged 
himself,  or  crawled,  over  the  sixty-five  miles  that  in- 
tervened between  the  place  of  the  fight  and  Fort  Brooke. 
He  and  the  other  two  men  referred  to  were  the  only 
persons  who  escaped,  and  the  other  two  died  of  their 
wounds  shortly  after  reaching  the  fort,  leaving  Clark  as 
the  sole  survivor. 

Clark  was  in  a  pitiable  condition  when  he  reached  Fort 
Brooke,  but  he  survived  his  awful  sufferings  for  several 
years,  dying  as  the  result  of  them  in  1840.  He  had  led 
an  adventurous  life  indeed,  and  had  more  than  once  es- 
caped from  sudden  death,  the  last  occasion  being  a  few 
years  before  when  he  was  the  only  man  saved  from  a 
boating  party  which  had  gone  out  from  Fort  Morgan  for 
a  sail  and  had  been  overtaken  by  a  storm. 

The  story  of  that  battle  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  through- 
out the  country,  and  sealed  the  fate  of  the  Seminoles. 
Those  who  had  been  inclined  to  show  them  pity,  or  to 
temporize,  were  now  equally  resolved  with  the  others  to 
wage  war  relentlessly  until  the  end. 

It  was  not  until  the  following  February — in  the  inter- 
val several  battles  having  taken  place — that  an  expedition 
reached  the  place  where  Dade  and  his  command  had  been 
exterminated.  The  Inspector  General  thus  reports 
what  he  found : 

"Western  Department, 
"  Fort  King,  Florida,  Feb.  22,  1836. 

"  General — Agreeably  to  your  directions,  I  observed 
the  battle  ground  six  or  seven  miles  north  of  the  Withla- 
coochee  River,  where  Major  Dade  and  his  command 
were  destroyed  by  the  Seminole  Indians  on  the  28th  of 


Seminoles   Fought  for  Freedom  205 

December,  last,  and  have  the  honor  to  submit  the  follow- 
ing Report : 

"  The  force  under  your  command,  which  arrived  at  this 
post  to-day  from  Tampa  Bay,  encamped  on  the  igth 
instant,  on  the  ground  occupied  by  Major  Dade  on  the 
night  of  the  2yth  of  December.  He  and  his  party  were 
destroyed  on  the  morning  of  the  28th,  about  four  miles 
in  advance  of  that  position.  He  was  advancing  towards 
this  post,  and  was  attacked  from  the  north,  so  that  on 
the  2Oth  instant  we  came  upon  the  rear  of  his  battle 
ground,  about  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning.  Our  advance 
guard  had  passed  the  ground  without  halting,  when  the 
General  and  his  Staff  came  upon  one  of  the  most  appall- 
ing scenes  that  can  be  imagined.  We  first  saw  some 
broken  and  scattered  bones;  then  a  cart,  the  two  oxen  of 
which  were  lying  dead,  as  if  they  had  fallen  asleep,  their 
yokes  still  upon  them;  a  little  to  the  right,  one  or  two 
horses  were  seen.  We  then  came  to  a  small  enclosure, 
made  by  felling  trees  in  such  a  manner  as  to  form  a  tri- 
angular breastwork  for  defence.  Within  the  triangle, 
along  the  north  and  west  faces  of  it,  were  about 
thirty  bodies,  mostly  mere  skeletons,  although  much 
of  the  clothing  was  left  upon  them.  These  were  ly- 
ing, every  one  of  them,  in  precisely  the  same  posi- 
tion they  must  have  occupied  during  the  fight;  their 
heads  next  to  the  logs  over  which  they  had  delivered 
their  fire,  and  their  bodies  stretched  with  striking  regu- 
larity parallel  to  each  other.  They  had  evidently  been 
shot  dead  at  their  posts,  and  the  Indians  had  not  dis- 
turbed them,  except  by  taking  the  scalps  of  most  of  them. 
Passing  this  little  breastwork,  we  found  other  bodies 
along  the  road,  and  by  the  side  of  the  road,  generally  be- 
hind trees,  which  had  been  resorted  to  for  covers  from 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

the  enemies'  fire.  Advancing  about  two  hundred  yards 
farther,  we  found  a  cluster  of  bodies  in  the  middle  of  the 
road.  They  were  evidently  the  advanced  guard,  in  the 
rear  of  which  was  the  body  of  Major  Bade,  and  to  the 
right  that  of  Captain  Fraser. 

"  These  were  doubtless  all  shot  down  by  the  first  fire  of 
the  Indians,  except,  perhaps,  Captain  Fraser,  who  must 
however  have  fallen  very  early  in  the  fight.  Those  in 
the  road,  and  by  the  trees,  fell  during  the  first  attack. 
It  was  during  a  cessation  of  the  fire,  that  the  little 
band  still  remaining,  about  thirty  in  number,  threw  up 
the  triangular  breast-work,  which,  from  the  haste  with 
which  it  was  constructed,  was  necessarily  defective,  and 
could  not  protect  the  men  in  the  second  attack. 

"  We  had  with  us  many  of  the  personal  friends  of  the 
officers  of  Major  Dade's  command,  and  it  is  gratifying  to 
be  able  to  state,  that  every  officer  was  identified  by  un- 
doubted evidence.  They  were  buried,  and  the  cannon, 
a  six-pounder,  that  the  Indians  had  thrown  into  a  swamp, 
was  recovered  and  placed  vertically  at  the  head  of  the 
grave,  where  it  is  to  be  hoped  it  will  long  remain. 
The  bodies  of  the  non-commissioned  officers  and  pri- 
vates were  buried  in  two  graves  and  it  was  found  that 
every  man  was  accounted  for.  The  command  was  com- 
posed of  eight  officers  and  one  hundred  and  two  non- 
commissioned officers  and  privates.  The  bodies  of  eight 
officers  and  ninety-eight  men  were  interred,  four  men 
having  escaped;  three  of  whom  reached  Tampa  Bay;  the 
fourth  was  killed  the  day  after  the  battle. 

"  It  may  be  proper  to  remark,  that  the  attack  was  not 
made  from  a  hammock,  but  in  a  thinly  wooded  country; 
the  Indians  being  concealed  by  palmetto  and  grass,  which 
has  since  been  burned. 


Seminoles  Fought  for  Freedom  207 

"  The  two  companies  were  Captain  Eraser's  of  the 
3rd  Artillery,  and  Captain  Gardiner's  of  the  2nd  Ar- 
tillery. The  officers  were  Major  Dade  of  the  4th 
Infantry,  Captains  Fraser  and  Gardiner,  Second  Lieut. 
Bassinger,  Brevet  Second  Lieutenants  R.  Henderson, 
Mudge  and  Keais,  of  the  Artillery,  and  Dr.  J.  S.  Gatlin. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  respect,  your 
obedient  servant, 

"  E.  A.  HITCHCOCK, 
"  Captain  1st  Infantry,  Act.  In.  General. 

"  Major  General  E.  P.  GAINES, 

"  Commanding  Western  Department,  Fort  King,  Flor- 
ida." 

The  bones  of  the  officers  and  soldiers  were  afterward 
exhumed  and  reinterred  at  St.  Augustine  with  appropriate 
ceremonies  and  a  monument  erected  over  them.  There 
is  also  another  monument  to  Dade  at  West  Point,  of 
which,  by  the  way,  he  was  not  a  graduate.  It  bears  this 
significant  inscription : 

"TO   COMMEMORATE  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  28TH  OF 
DECEMBER,    BETWEEN   A   DETACHMENT   OF    108   U. 
S.   TROOPS  AND   THE    SEMINOLE   INDIANS,    OF 
FLORIDA,     IN     WHICH     ALL    THE    DETACH- 
MENT  SAVE  THREE  FELL  WITHOUT  AN 
ATTEMPT  TO  RETREAT." 

In  this  connection,  one  phrase  of  Captain  Hitchcock's 
report  is  worthy  of  note.  The  men  had  been  shot  at  their 
posts !  The  bodies  were  found  drawn  up  in  the  lines  as 


208       Border   Fights  and  Fighters 

they  had  fought.  In  the  face  of  that  appalling  disaster, 
bereft  of  their  officers,  confronted  by  a  sure  and  awful 
death,  they  had  gallantly  maintained  the  heroic  traditions 
of  the  American  Army,  dying  on  the  battle  ground  in 
their  appointed  stations.  Honor  to  them ! 


PART    V 
THE   NORTH   WEST  TERRITORY 


GEORGE    ROGERS    CLARK    AND    THE 
GREAT    NORTH    WEST 

I.     The  Origin  of  a  Great  Idea 

THE  first  white  man  who  penetrated  the 
heart  of  the  territory  bounded  by  the  Ohio,  the 
great  Lakes  and  the  Mississippi,  was  that  re- 
doubtable explorer  and  heroic  soul,  Robert  Cavelier, 
Sieur  de  la  Salle.  In  1669-70  he  traversed  what  is  now 
Indiana  and  explored  the  country  along  the  beautiful 
Ohio  as  far  as  the  Mississippi,  claiming  the  whole  vast  re- 
gion for  France.  For  nearly  one  hundred  years  there- 
after the  white  flag  of  that  sunny  land  fluttered  from  the 
staffs  of  small  forts,  which  were  erected  from  time  to 
time  at  strategic  points  commanding  the  river  highways, 
in  accordance  with  the  military  genius  of  the  French  sol- 
diery. These  strategic  points  became  centres  of  trade, 
agriculture,  and  commerce  in  the  succeeding  centuries. 

In  1727  the  Sieur  de  Vincennes  established  a  military 
post  on  the  Ouabache  (Wabash),  where  the  town  of  the 
same  name  now  stands  in  southern  Indiana.  In  1735  a 
few  families  settled  there,  and  their  number  was  slowly 
augmented  during  the  century.  The  fort,  although 
nearer  the  province  of  Quebec,  was  in  the  territory  of  the 
district  of  Illinois,  of  the  province  of  Louisiana.  The 
headquarters  of  the  district  were  at  Kaskaskia,  situated 
where  the  river  of  the  same  name  empties  into  the  Mis' 

211 


212       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

sissippi,  and  the  capital  of  the  province  was  New  Or- 
leans. 

In  1736  the  gallant  commander  and  founder  of  Vin- 
cennes  was  killed,  bravely  righting,  by  the  English  and 
Indians  in  a  war  against  the  Natchez,  and  the  Chickasaws, 
when  d'Artaguiette  met  with  overwhelming  defeat. 
Says  Charlevoix,  "  Vincennes  ceased  not  until  his  last 
breath  to  exhort  the  men  to  behave  worthy  of  their  relig- 
ion and  their  country."  D'Artaguiette  and  fifteen  of  his 
companions  were  captured  and  burned  at  the  stake. 
Louis  St.  Ange  de  Bellerive  was  appointed  to  the  govern- 
orship of  the  little  Indiana  town  in  1736,  and  remained  in 
charge  until  1764;  in  this  long  tour  of  duty  proving  in- 
deed a  father  to  his  people. 

Perhaps  nowhere  on  the  continent  has  humanity  dwelt 
in  such  peaceful  simplicity  as  in  the  little  settlement  at 
Vincennes.  Even  the  Indians  lived  in  amicable  relations 
with  the  colonists  in  the  main.  Cut  off  from  intercourse 
with  the  rest  of  the  world,  it  passed  them  by  unheeding 
and  unheeded,  the  fleeting  years  leaving  the  people  un- 
changed. In  hunting  and  fishing,  in  agriculture  of  the 
most  primitive  kind,  with  implements  which  might  have 
been  used  two  thousand  years  before;  in  trading  down 
the  river  to  New  Orleans;  in  feasting,  in  frolic,  with  all 
the  gayety  of  their  French  nationality,  the  uneventful 
days  glided  by. 

Except  at  Kaskaskia  there  was  not  a  school  in  the 
whole  vast  territory,  although  incredible  as  it  may  seem, 
there  was  a  billiard  table  in  the  settlement  on  the  Wabash ! 
The  little  education  the  inhabitants  received  was  imparted 
by  the  faithful  and  devoted  missionaries  who  dwelt 
among  them. 

In  1763,  on  the  completion  of  the  Seven  Years'  War, 


George  Rogers  Clark  213 

the  whole  country  from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  on  the  hither  side  of  the  Mississippi  fell  into  the 
hands  of  England  by  treaty,  although,  owing  to  the  fearful 
outbreak  of  savage  passion,  engendered  and  stimulated 
by  Pontiac,  except  Tecumseh  the  ablest  Indian  who  ever 
lived,  the  English  were  not  able  to  take  immediate  pos- 
session of  it.  Kaskaskia  and  Fort  Chartres,  the  principal 
military  post,  were  turned  over  to  them  in  1765,  and  the 
post  at  Vincennes  sometime  later.  On  the  western  side 
of  the  river  France  ceded  her  claims  to  the  territory  to 
Spain. 

The  conquest  made  little  difference  to  the  inhabitants. 
They  had  not  been  greatly  concerned  in  the  war  which 
had  resulted  in  the  transfer  of  their  allegiance  and  they 
were  not  greatly  concerned  with  another  more  important 
event  which  happened  later  on.  They  lived  on  just  as 
they  had  done  before — perhaps  a  little  less  cheerfully,  a 
little  less  happily,  under  the  Union  Jack  than  under  the 
Fleur-de-lis,  but  there  was  not  much  difference. 

Meanwhile  all  of  the  vast  territory  west  of  the  Alle- 
gheny Mountains  which  had  hitherto  proved  a  barrier  to 
the  settlements  having  their  origin  on  the  seaboard,  was 
attracting  the  attention  of  such  bold,  adventurous  spirits 
as  Boone,  Robertson,  and  Sevier.  Among  other  empire 
builders  who  surveyed  it  with  eager,  if  not  prophetic 
vision,  was  George  Rogers  Clark. 

Like  many  of  the  pioneers  he  was  a  native  of  the  great 
state  of  Virginia,  where  he  was  born  on  the  igth  of  No- 
vember, 1752.  The  west  was  settled  by  men  from  the 
south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's  line,  except  in  the  case  of 
Pennsylvania.  Without  belonging  to  the  landed  gentry, 
the  Clark  family  was  respectable,  and  he  himself  received 
such  education  as  the  western  part  of  the  Old  Dominion 


214       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

afforded.  Like  George  Washington  and  many  young 
men  of  the  day,  he  became  a  surveyor,  in  which  vocation 
he  displayed  great  proficiency.  But  at  best  his  acquire- 
ments were  limited.  His  spelling  was  simply  awful,  al- 
though his  diction  and  his  chirography  were  somewhat 
better.  However,  spelling  was  thought  somewhat  lightly 
of  by  many  gentlemen  who  had  enjoyed  more  advantages 
than  this  young  Virginian. 

He  was  a  strongly  built,  heavy  set  man,  with  broad  brow 
and  keen  blue  eyes,  with  a  dash  of  red  in  his  hair  from 
a  Scottish  ancestress,  which  corresponded  with  the  fight- 
ing qualities  of  the  man.  He  was  a  young  man  of  suffi- 
cient consideration  in  the  community  to  receive  a  commis- 
sion as  captain  in  Lord  Dunmore's  war,  a  school  which 
graduated  many  officers  into  the  more  serious  conflict 
which  followed  hard  upon  it.  Clark  was  one  of  Dun- 
more's staff,  apparently,  and  therefore  did  not  participate 
in  the  famous  battle  of  Point  Pleasant  on  the  Kanawha. 
After  the  war  he  went  to  Kentucky,  which  he  had  before 
visited  on  a  surveying  expedition.  Subsequently  he  be- 
came one  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  pioneers  in  that 
famous  territory. 

The  Revolution  found  the  Clark  family  intense  and 
zealous  patriots.  The  two  oldest  brothers  immediately 
enlisted  in  the  Continental  line  and  served  with  credit — 
the  elder  one  with  distinction — during  the  whole  of  the 
war.  George  Rogers,  the  third,  was  not  less  ardent  in 
his  patriotism  than  the  other  two,  and  he  displayed  his 
qualities  on  a  more  splendid  field.  The  remaining  broth- 
er, too  young  for  the  Revolution,  showed  his  qualities  in 
the  famous  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition  across  the  conti- 
nent in  1804-6. 

When  the  war  began,  the  Indians,  stimulated  thereto 


George  Rogers  Clark  215 

by  the  British,  inaugurated  a  series  of  ruthless  forays,  not 
only  into  the  "  dark  and  bloody  ground  "  of  Kentucky, 
but  everywhere  on  the  borders.  The  few  frontier  settle- 
ments in  Kentucky,  with  which  we  are  at  present  con- 
cerned, were  at  once  put  on  the  defensive  and  forced  to 
fight  for  their  lives.  With  the  forethought  of  state  build- 
ers, desirous  of  organizing  a  civil  government  of  some 
sort  in  the  trans-Allegheny  region,  and  of  representing 
their  defenceless  condition  to  Virginia,  which  they  rightly 
considered  their  mother  territory,  they  called  a  conven- 
tion at  Clark's  instance,  at  Harrodsburg  in  1775.  He 
was  delayed  in  reaching  the  convention  when  it  opened, 
and  found,  when  he  did  arrive,  that  he  and  one  other  had 
been  elected  to  the  Virginia  legislature  from  Kentucky, 
which  at  that  time  had  no  legal  existence  and  therefore 
no  right  to  send  delegates  to  the  assembly.  However, 
he  made  the  long  arduous  journey  across  the  mountains 
to  .Williamsburg  only  to  learn  that  the  legislature  had  ad- 
journed before  his  arrival. 

He  and  his  companion  at  once  made  representations  to 
the  Governor,  the  redoubtable  Patrick  Henry,  concern- 
ing the  situation  beyond  the  Mississippi,  asking  for  five 
hundred  pounds  of  powder  to  defend  themselves  against 
the  savages,  and  suggesting  also  that  some  steps  be  taken 
for  the  establishment  of  civil  government  in  this  wild  and 
lawless  expanse  of  territory.  There  was  in  existence 
at  the  time  a  Transylvania  Company,  so  called,  of  which 
Colonels  Henderson  and  Campbell  were  chief  promoters, 
which  claimed  the  right  of  eminent  domain  over  Ken- 
tucky, and  the  Virginia  government  felt  some  hesitation 
about  assuming  any  rights  over  this  country. 

The  authorities  were  perfectly  willing  to  lend  five  hun- 
dred pounds  of  powder  to  their  neighbors  in  Kentucky 


216       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

on  the  guarantee  of  Clark  himself,  but  Clark  was  shrewd 
enough  not  to  fall  into  a  trap  of  this  kind.  He  rejected 
their  proffer  and  wrote  them  a  brilliant  letter  in  which  he 
said  that  a  country  that  was  not  worth  defending  was  not 
worth  claiming.  This  sharp  intimation  that  he  would 
endeavor  to  get  help  elsewhere  brought  the  commission- 
ers to  terms.  Clark  got  the  powder.  It  was  his  first  suc- 
cess. Not  only  did  he  get  it  after  the  order  had  been 
given — and  the  two  things  were  not  synonymous,  then; 
it  was  hard  to  get  powder  in  those  revolutionary  days, 
since  it  was  in  so  great  demand — but  he  actually  succeed- 
ed in  getting  it  safely  into  the  hands  of  the  people.  This 
in  spite  of  savage  attacks  and  perils  of  a  journey  wellnigh 
unsurmountable.  He  also  succeeded,  through  his  repre- 
sentations, in  having  Kentucky  formed  into  a  county 
of  Virginia,  and  brought  under  the  operation  of  the  civil 
law  of  that  state,  a  service  of  inestimable  value. 

Meanwhile  the  British,  in  pursuance  of  their  well-de- 
vised plan,  continued  to  launch  the  savages  on  the  backs 
of  the  Americans  in  the  fond  hope  that  they  would  thus 
be  enabled  to  work  their  will  with  the  harassed  revolution- 
ists on  the  seaboard.  Major  Stuart  and  chiefs  McGilli- 
vray  and  Oconostota  raised  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees  on 
one  hand,  while  Lieutenant-Governor  William  Hamilton, 
of  Detroit,  who  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the  chief  vil- 
lains in  the  plot,  incited  the  Indians  in  the  northwest  to 
the  war-path  with  great  success.  Campbell,  Shelby,  Se- 
vier  and  Robertson  held  them  in  check  to  the  southwest ; 
God  raised  up  another  leader  to  cover  the  frontier  to  the 
northward. 

It  was  hard  living  in  Kentucky  in  those  days,  and  the 
one  man  there  who  saw  something  else  to  do  than  fight 
recklessly  and  desperately  when  the  savages  came,  the 


George  Rogers   Clark  217 

one  man  who  divined  how  these  forays  might  be  stopped 
and  who  realized  that  in  the  stopping  of  them  great  bene- 
fits would  accrue  not  merely  to  Kentucky,  but  to  the 
United  Colonies  as  well,  was  George  Rogers  Clark. 

He  realized  that  the  old  French  posts  of  Detroit,  Kas- 
kaskia,  and  Vincennes  were  the  points  from  which  the 
Indians  secured  the  necessary  supplies  to  carry  on  the 
war,  as  well  as  the  stimulation  which  enabled  them  to 
sweep  the  borders.  Securing  information  concerning 
their  strength  and  weakness  from  two  spies  whom  he 
sent  out,  he  conceived  the  magnificent  design  of  capturing 
these  points,  holding  them,  and  thus  establishing  for  the 
United  States  a  claim  to  the  great  territory  of  the  north- 
west. 

Neither  he  nor  anyone  else  dreamed  for  a  moment  of 
the  great,  populous  and  wealthy  states  which  were  en- 
shrined potentially  within  that  wilderness.  No  one 
could  imagine  that  upon  the  barren  shore  of  one  of  the 
lonely  lakes  tossing  its  fresh  waters  in  the  sunlight 
should  presently  rise  the  second  city  of  the  Union  and 
one  of  the  great  cities  of  the  world.  How  could  he,  or 
any  one,  anticipate  the  future  growth  of  the  struggling 
colonies?  The  boldest  imagination  could  not  compre- 
hend the  possibility,  much  less  the  realization,  of  that 
great  deluge  of  men,  which,  starting  from  the  shores 
lapped  by  the  ocean-tide,  should  break  over  the  moun- 
tain-crest hitherto  considered  a  natural  boundary,  and 
flood  the  wilderness  until  it  reached  the  banks  of  the  far- 
away Mississippi.  And  as  for  the  empire  beyond  it  over 
which  the  same  tide  rolls  and  still  sweeps  on,  that  was  be- 
yond the  most  extravagant  dream,  even.  Yet  with  in- 
stinctive prophetic  vision  something  of  this  Titanic  con- 
ception of  national  destiny  seems  to  have  come  to  this 
young  man. 


2i 8       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 


II.     The  First  Success 

In  1777  he  went  back  to  Virginia  and  laid  his  daring 
project  before  Patrick  Henry.  The  stupendousness  of 
the  idea  impressed  the  sagacious  old  governor;  he  caused 
a  council  to  be  called  to  consider  the  suggestion  of  the 
borderer,  a  council  composed  of  himself,  Thomas  Jeffer- 
son, George  Mason,  and  George  Wythe.  To  these  men, 
Clark,  not  much  more  than  a  boy,  just  twenty-five  years 
old  in  fact,  expounded  his  plan.  They  realized  at  once 
what  there  was  in  it.  Not  merely  the  protection  of  the 
settlements  south  of  the  Ohio  in  Kentucky,  not  merely  a 
check  to  Indian  aggression,  but  the  extension  of  the  bor- 
ders of  the  United  States  to  the  Mississippi,  the  control 
of  that  vast  territory  between  the  mountains  and  the  river. 
Room  to  grow,  room  to  grow  for  thousands  of  years, 
they  may  have  thought,  instead  of  barely  for  a  century. 
At  any  rate  they  approved  the  plan. 

Few  more  momentous  councils  have  ever  been  held, 
although  even  now  it  is  scarcely  noticed  in  history.  Clark 
was  naturally  selected  to  lead  the  expedition.  He  was 
given  twelve  hundred  pounds  in  depreciated  Virginia  cur- 
rency, a  commission  as  a  colonel,  an  order  for  ammuni- 
tion at  Fort  Pitt,  and  authority  to  raise  seven  hundred 
and  fifty  men  for  three  months'  service  where  he  could. 
Then  they  sent  him  out  with  their  blessing  and  their  good- 
will. Such  were  the  inadequate  means  provided  for  this 
gigantic  achievement. 

The  plan  was  kept  strictly  secret  by  Clark  and  the  four 
men  who  had  determined  upon  it.  His  public  instruc- 
tions from  Patrick  Henry  ordered  him  to  proceed  to 
Kentucky  and  take  measures  for  the  defence  of  the  col- 


George  Rogers  Clark  219 

onists  with  such  troops  as  he  could  enlist.  A  private 
letter,  however,  authorized  him  to  take  and  hold  Kaskas- 
kia,  Vincennes,  and  the  whole  northwest  territory. 

Many  difficulties  beset  the  enlistment  of  his  soldiers, 
but  he  finally  succeeded  in  assembling  several  hundred 
men  on  Corn  Island,  at  the  Falls  of  the  Ohio,  opposite 
where  is  now  the  great  city  of  Louisville.  The  thickly 
wooded  island  has  since  been  stripped  of  its  trees,  and 
washed  away  by  the  rapid  current.  Many  of  his  troops 
deserted  from  time  to  time,  especially  when  they  learned 
the  real  purpose  for  which  they  had  been  embodied,  and 
he  found  himself  left  at  last  with  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men;  and  the  time  was  approaching  for  them  to  start 
upon  their  projected  expedition. 

He  had  chosen  to  camp  upon  this  island  because,  on 
account  of  its  isolation  by  the  rapid  falls,  he  could  pre- 
vent further  desertion.  It  was  a  good  place,  too,  in 
which  to  drill  and  train  the  men  in  accordance  with  his 
limited  experience.  What  he  lacked  in  military  training 
and  technical  knowledge  he  made  up  in  zeal  and  innate 
capacity  to  command,  and  he  soon  got  his  little  army 
under  excellent  control. 

A  number  of  families  which  had  followed  him  down 
the  river  settled  on  the  island  around  a  block-house  which 
he  built  for  their  protection.  Then  he  set  forth  to  ac- 
complish his  comprehensive  purpose.  He  left  his  camp 
on  the  island  on  the  24th  of  June,  1778,  and  embarked 
his  men,  divided  into  four  companies,  in  bateaux,  rowing 
back  up  the  river  until  he  could  gain  the  channel  through 
the  rapids,  much  more  dangerous  then  than  now,  through 
which  they  made  an  exciting  passage. 

The  departure  of  the  expedition  was  dramatic  in  the 
extreme.  As  the  boats  were  whirled  down  the  mighty 


220       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

river  by  the  swift  current,  though  it  was  early  in  the 
morning,  the  land  was  enshrouded  in  almost  total  dark- 
ness from  an  eclipse  of  the  sun;  a  bad  omen  thought 
some  of  the  party,  but  Clark  was  no  believer  in  omens. 
For  four  days  they  swung  down  the  river,  reaching  at  last 
an  abandoned  French  post  called  Fort  Massac.  It  had 
been  built  by  the  garrison  of  Fort  DuQuesne  fleeing 
from  the  advance  of  Forbes  in  1759.* 

There  they  were  met  by  a  party  of  hunters  who  had 
recently  come  from  Kaskaskia,  the  capital  and  principal 
town  of  the  province.  They  reported  it  to  be  lightly 
garrisoned  and  negligently  guarded.  Learning  of  the 
destination  of  the  expedition,  they  asked  Clark's  permis- 
sion to  join  his  party,  for  which  one  of  them  offered  to  act 
as  guide.  The  offer  was  gladly  accepted,  and  although 
the  guide  temporarily  lost  his  way  and  was  in  imminent 
danger  of  death  at  the  hands  of  the  indignant  and  suspi- 
cious Americans,  he  proved  his  loyalty  and  gave  them 
good  service  in  the  end.  For  six  days  the  party  marched 
westward  over  the  prairie.  They  had  no  wagons  or 
pack-horses,  and  no  baggage  except  what  each  man  car- 
ried himself,  consequently  their  progress  was  unusually 
rapid. 

On  the  evening  of  the  4th  of  July  they  reached  the 
east  bank  of  the  Kaskaskia  River,  opposite  the  town, 
undiscovered.  Marching  up  the  bank  in  the  night  they 
found  a  farm-house.  They  put  the  inmates  under  guard, 
seized  the  boats  belonging  to  them,  crossed  the  river,  and 
marched  down  toward  the  town.  The  commander  of  the 
place  was  M.  de  Rocheblave,  a  Frenchman.  The  garri- 
son was  made  up  of  Creole  militia.  De  Rocheblave  had 
implored  to  have  British  regular  troops  sent  him,  but  none 

*  See  my  book  Colonial  Fights  and  Fighters.  The  Struggle  for  the 
Valley  of  the  Ohio. 


George  Rogers  Clark 

had  appeared.  It  was  not  thought  possible  that  the  post 
would  be  attacked  by  the  Americans,  and  the  King  had 
use  for  his  soldiers  elsewhere.  On  that  evening  no  one 
dreamed  that  the  Kentucky  pioneers  were  at  hand. 

One  dramatic  account  of  the  capture  of  the  place  says 
that  Clark  surrounded  the  town,  disposing  the  greater 
portion  of  his  troops  so  that  none  could  escape  from  it, 
and  with  the  rest  marched  silently  toward  the  fort.  The 
story  goes  that  the  officers  were  enjoying  a  dance  at  the 
time  in  one  of  the  large  rooms,  and  that  Clark,  admitted 
to  the  fort  through  the  postern  by  one  of  his  prisoners, 
left  his  men  outside  the  barracks  and  then  walked  boldly 
into  the  room.  No  one  happening  to  notice  his  entrance 
he  stood  quietly  by  the  door,  with  an  inborn  love  of  the 
dramatic,  folding  his  arms  and  looking  grimly  upon  the 
scene  of  gayety. 

Presently  an  Indian  caught  sight  of  him  and  recognized 
an  enemy,  perhaps  because  of  the  buff  and  blue  he  wore, 
and  rent  the  air  with  a  terrific  war-whoop.  The  women 
shrieked,  the  music  stopped,  and  Clark,  with  tragic  in- 
tensity, bade  them  go  on  with  the  dance,  but  to  remem- 
ber that  now  they  were  to  dance  in  honor  of  Virginia  and 
of  the  United  States,  instead  of  Great  Britain !  I  take  it 
that  they  were  in  no  humor  for  further  merriment. 
Whether  the  story  be  true  or  no,  and  some  good  authori- 
ties give  it  credence,  the  fact  remains  that  the  fort  was 
surprised  and  captured  without  the  loss  of  a  man  on  either 
side. 

Clark  was  most  anxious  to  get  hold  of  the  papers  of  the 
commander.  One  na'ive  historian  says  that  Madame  de 
Rocheblave  succeeded  in  concealing  them  in  her  bed- 
chamber, and  that  rather  than  violate  the  sanctity  of  her 
apartment  and  thus  affront  her  modesty,  the  American 
officers  suffered  her  to  do  what  she  would  with  them. 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

"  Better,"  writes  the  gallant  old  chronicler,  "  better, 
yes,  a  thousand  times  better,  were  it  so  than  that  the 
ancient  fame  of  the  sons  of  Virginia  should  have  been 
tarnished  by  insult  to  a  female." 

It  is  a  pity  to  spoil  a  pretty  story,  but  the  papers,  at 
least  an  important  portion  of  them,  were  forthcoming, 
however  they  were  secured.  The  British  relations  with 
the  savages  were  revealed  in  them;  the  English  guilt  was 
clear. 

By  this  time  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  were  in  a  great 
state  of  terror,  and  Clark  purposely  fostered  it.  He  or- 
dered them  to  repair  to  their  houses  and  stay  there  under 
pain  of  death,  and  they  passed  a  night  of  anguished  fore- 
boding. In  the  morning,  permission  being  given,  they 
came  to  him  begging  him  to  spare  the  lives  of  their 
wives  and  children,  offering  themselves  as  slaves  in  that 
contingency,  to  the  American  chief  of  the  "  Big  Knives," 
as  they  called  the  Kentuckians.  What  was  their  joy  and 
relief  when  Clark  proclaimed  that  their  lives  would  be 
spared,  their  property  respected,  and  that  all  should  en- 
joy freedom.  While  they  were  enthusiastic  with  this 
news,  he  invited  their  allegiance  to  the  American  cause, 
which  it  was  not  difficult  to  secure,  in  view  of  the  great 
tidings  which  he  brought  them  of  the  capture  of  Bur- 
goyne  and  the  American  alliance  with  France. 

Thereafter  the  French  and  Americans  were  indeed 
brethren.  Their  mourning  was  turned  into  joy  and  they 
made  haste  to  hoist  the  stars  and  stripes  which,  for  the 
first  time,  July  5th,  1778,  floated  near  the  waters  of  the 
Mississippi.  Cahokia  received  the  Americans  in  the  same 
ardent  way,  and  the  conquest  of  the  northwest,  so  far  as 
they  were  concerned,  was  complete.  In  October,  1778, 
Virginia  inaugurated  the  first  civil  government  in  the 


George  Rogers  Clark  223 

northwest  by  establishing  the  County  of  Illinois,  compre- 
hending all  the  new  territory  beyond  the  Ohio,  with 
Colonel  John  Todd  as  Governor,  and  Clark  as  supreme 
and  independent  military  commander. 

There  yet  remained  of  the  British  posts  to  be  dealt 
with,  Vincennes  and  Detroit,  before  the  conquest  of  the 
country  could  be  called  complete,  the  former  being  of 
more  present  importance  because  nearer.  Among  the 
inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia  was  a  certain  Roman  priest 
named  Father  Gibault,  whom  Clark,  with  finer  regard  for 
euphony  than  spelling,  referred  to  in  his  letters  as  "  Mr. 
Jeboth."  This  devoted  French  missionary  agreed  to  go 
to  Vincennes,  which  was  at  that  time  without  a  garrison, 
to  secure  the  allegiance  of  the  populace  to  the  new  gov- 
ernment and  new  flag.  He  faithfully  fulfilled  his  com- 
mission, and  the  French  residents  willingly  assented  to 
the  change  of  government,  and  hoisted  the  American  flag 
over  the  fort,  which  they  subsequently  delivered  to  Cap- 
tain Leonard  Helm,  who  was  appointed  commandant  and 
Indian  agent  at  the  post  by  Clark. 

Meanwhile  Clark  administered  the  military  affairs  of 
the  province  of  Illinois  with  great  vigor,  by  his  resolution 
and  tact  compelling  the  Indians  to  bury  the  hatchet  and 
make  peace,  which  obtained  for  a  considerable  period. 
For  the  first  time  in  years  Kentucky  and  the  borders  of 
Virginia  were  comparatively  free  from  war-parties.  The 
settlers  could  lay  aside  the  rifle  and  ply  the  axe  and  speed 
the  plough  in  safety. 

Clark's  methods  of  dealing  with  the  Indians  were  al- 
ways fine.  He  knew  that  kindness  and  gentleness  would 
be  taken  by  them  as  indications  of  weakness.  Therefore 
he  was  boldness  itself  toward  them.  Years  afterward, 
while  making  a  treaty  with  several  hostile  tribes,  he  over- 


224       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

awed  them  and  compelled  them  to  make  peace  in  the 
following  way: 

Some  three  hundred  hostile  Indians  in  full  war-paint 
met  him  in  council  at  Fort  Washington.  Clark  had  sev- 
enty men  in  the  stockade.  The  Shawnees  were  arrogant, 
boastful  and  full  of  fight.  They  came  into  the  council- 
house  with  a  war-belt  and  a  peace-belt.  Throwing  them 
both  on  the  table  they  told  Clark  to  take  his  choice.  He 
swept  them  both  to  the  floor  with  his  cane,  rose  to  his 
feet,  stamped  contemptuously  upon  them,  and  sternly 
telling  the  Indians  to  make  peace  instantly  or  he  would 
wipe  them  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  ordered  them  to  leave 
the  hall.  They  fled  his  presence,  debated  all  night,  swal- 
lowed the  insult,  and  buried  the  hatchet. 

III.     "The  Hair-Buyer  General" 

There  lived  at  Detroit  at  this  time  a  certain  British 
officer  named  William  Hamilton,  who  occupied  the  im- 
portant position  of  Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  province. 
History  has  written  severe  indictments  against  this  man. 
There  are  still  in  existence  letters  in  which  his  employ- 
ment of  Indians  to  carry  on  "  civilized  "  warfare  is  proved 
beyond  doubt.  He  is  accused  of  having  offered  rewards 
for  American  scalps  and  of  having  paid  them,  and  the 
facts  are  indisputable.  Early  in  1778,  he  wrote  to  Carle- 
ton,  governor  of  Quebec,  that  a  party  of  Indians  had  just 
come  into  Detroit  with  seventy-three  prisoners  and  one 
hundred  and  twenty-nine  scalps!  On  the  i6th  of  Sep- 
tember in  the  same  year,  he  wrote  to  Haldimand,  who 
had  superseded  Carleton,  that  another  party  had  arrived 
bringing  twenty-nine  prisoners  and  eighty-nine  scalps. 
Among  these  scalps  were  many  that  had  been  wrenched 
from  the  heads  of  women  and  children ! 


George  Rogers  Clark  225 

This  subornation  of  savagery  is  the  most  dastardly  ac- 
tion by  which  a  brave  soldier  can  ruin  his  reputation.  To 
employ  ruthless  Indians  to  prey  upon  women  and  chil- 
dren and  defenceless  non-combatants  is  the  act  of  a  vil- 
lain and  a  coward.  There  is  this  to  be  said  in  explana- 
tion, though  not  in  justification,  of  Hamilton's  action, 
that  he  acted  under  orders  of  his  government,  upon 
which  the  odium  primarily  rests;  but  orders  or  not,  no 
man  should  ever  commit  such  a  crime.  Rather  should  he 
surrender  his  commission.  No,  Hamilton's  course  is  in- 
defensible. The  blood  of  innocent  women  and  children 
is  upon  him. 

When  Hamilton  heard,  as  he  did  presently,  of  Clark  at 
Kaskaskia,  and  that  he  had  raised  the  American  flag  at 
Vincennes,  he  determined  to  march  down  the  Wabash 
from  Detroit,  retake  Vincennes  and  then  proceed  west- 
ward and  capture  Clark.  With  a  motley  force  of  Indians 
together  with  thirty  British  regulars,  and  fifty  Canadian 
volunteers  from  Detroit,  he  appeared  before  Fort  Sack- 
ville,  Vincennes,  on  December  I7th,  1778.  The  French 
militia  of  the  garrison  at  once  fled  to  their  homes  and 
left  the  defence  of  the  fort  to  the  redoubtable  Helm  and 
one  valiant  soldier  named  Moses  Henry. 

Helm,  of  course,  could  make  no  defence  of  the  dilapi- 
dated stockade,  but  he  had  partaken  in  large  measure  of 
the  spirit  of  Clark.  He  resolved  to  bluff.  Clark  was  the 
greatest  bluffer  in  the  history  of  the  northwest.  He  was 
always  willing  to  make  good  so  far  as  he  could,  but  gen- 
erally he  had  so  little  force  that  he  accomplished  his  ends 
by  his  assurance.  Helm  was  like  him.  He  charged  the 
one  serviceable  cannon  he  possessed  to  the  muzzle,  ran  it 
out  at  the  gate  of  the  post,  placed  his  solitary  soldier  by 
it  with  a  blazing  match,  and  swore  to  Hamilton,  who  had 


226       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

demanded  his  surrender,  that  no  man  should  enter  the  fort 
until  he  knew  what  terms  would  be  granted  him. 

Inspired  by  his  dauntless  bearing,  and  ignorant  of  the 
force  with  which  he  might  have  to  contend,  and  with  the 
added  argument  of  a  loaded  cannon  trained  upon  his 
troops,  Hamilton  agreed  that  the  garrison  should  march 
out  with  the  honors  of  war,  if  they  would  surrender. 
Withdrawing  the  match,  Helm  and  Moses  marched  out 
solemnly  between  the  disgusted  British  and  Indians,  and 
Hamilton  got  the  fort.  He  retained  Helm  as  prisoner, 
but  the  genial  qualities  of  the  jovial  American  won  the 
affections  of  his  captors,  and  his  imprisonment  was  a  light 
one. 

A  more  vigorous  commander  than  Hamilton  would 
have  immediately  pushed  on  to  Kaskaskia  and  completed 
the  conquest  of  the  country  by  capturing  Clark,  but 
Hamilton,  satisfied  with  his  expedition  so  far,  and  de- 
terred by  the  wretched  weather,  the  lateness  of  the  season, 
the  difficulties  of  the  way,  concluded  to  wait  until  the 
spring-time. 

He  did  detach  a  party  of  Indians  and  rangers  to  attempt 
to  abduct  the  American  commander,  if  they  could  find 
him,  but  beyond  alarming  the  inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia 
they  effected  nothing.  Clark  was  soon  apprised  by  his 
scouts  of  the  capture  of  Vincennes.  This  was  a  serious 
blow  to  the  project  he  had  formed.  How  to  meet  it  was 
a  question.  He  was  not  yet  informed  of  Hamilton's  fur- 
ther intentions,  nor  was  he  in  possession  of  accurate  in- 
formation as  to  the  force  of  the  garrison  which  the  British 
held  at  the  post. 

To  him,  in  his  uncertainty,  in  the  latter  part  of  Jan- 
uary, 1779,  came  one  Francis  Vigo.  Vigo  was  a  Sardin- 
ian, born  at  Mondovi,  before  the  middle  of  the  seven- 


teenth  century.  He  had  been  an  officer  in  the  Spanish 
army,  and  in  that  capacity  had  come  to  America.  He  had 
resigned  his  command  and  entered  upon  the  business  of 
a  trader,  hunter,  etc.,  with  head-quarters  at  St.  Louis, 
where  he  had  amassed  a  large  fortune.  He  was  a  man  of 
liberal  and  enlightened  views,  and  had  extended  a  hearty 
hospitality  to  Clark  when  he  arrived  in  that  country.  He 
had  done  more  than  that.  He  had  accepted  the  depre- 
ciated Virginia  currency  at  par,  and  by  giving  it  his  coun- 
tenance, had  made  it  pass  current  among  the  natives.  He 
had  cashed  Clark's  drafts  for  large  sums,  and  in  fact  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  the  expedition  could  have  succeeded 
without  him. 

He  had  gone  on  a  trading  expedition  to  Vincennes, 
where  he  had  been  captured  and  brought  before  Hamil- 
ton. Hamilton  had  no  authority  to  hold  a  Spanish  sub- 
ject, and  he  had  released  him  on  parole,  requiring  him  to 
report  daily  at  the  fort.  The  inhabitants  of  Vincennes, 
with  whom  Vigo  was  a  great  favorite,  protested  so  vig- 
orously against  his  detention,  going  to  the  length  of  re- 
fusing to  supply  the  fort  with  provisions  unless  he  were 
immediately  released,  that  at  last  their  efforts  prevailed 
to  secure  his  freedom.  He  had  refused  to  be  enlarged 
on  condition  of  his  doing  nothing  to  prejudice  British  in- 
terests during  the  war,  and  Hamilton  was  forced  to  let 
him  go  on  his  promising  to  do  nothing  to  hinder  the 
cause  of  'British  arms  on  his  way  to  St.  Louis. 

Vigo  strictly  kept  his  agreement.  He  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  Kaskaskia  without  stopping,  and  repaired 
to  his  home  in  St.  Louis.  Having  now  kept  his  prom- 
ise to  the  letter,  he  took  horse  and  made  his  way  with  all 
speed  to  Kaskaskia,  where  he  arrived  on  the  2gth  of  Jan- 
uary, 1779.  There  he  acquainted  Clark  with  the  state  of 


228       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

affairs  in  Vincennes.  Hamilton  had  dismissed  all  his 
Indian  allies  for  the  winter,  and  held  the  fort  with  eighty 
white  troops.  It  was  his  purpose,  however,  so  Vigo  in- 
formed Clark,  to  assemble  them  all  in  the  spring-time, 
and  with  heavy  re-enforcements  from  Detroit,  march  to 
the  Illinois  country.  In  that  case  there  would  be  little 
hope  of  a  successful  resistance. 

What  was  to  be  done?  It  was  mid-winter.  Could 
the  Americans  march  to  capture  Vincennes  then?  To 
wait  for  spring  and  the  British  to  come  was  to  give  up 
all.  Clark  at  once  determined  upon  an  immediate  attack. 
He  "  flung  his  gauntlet  in  the  face  of  Fate  and  assumed 
the  offensive."  He  would  not  wait  for  pleasant  weather 
to  bring  Hamilton  and  his  horde  upon  him,  he  would 
carry  the  war  into  Indiana  at  once.  I  do  not  suppose  he 
had  ever  heard  of  Scipio  Africanus,  but  his  methods  were 
those  advocated  by  the  famous  Roman. 

Fort  Sackville  had  been  thoroughly  repaired  and  put 
into  a  complete  state  of  defence  by  Hamilton.  It  was 
provided  with  artillery  and  manned  by  a  garrison  suf- 
ficient to  hold  it  against  any  force  which  Clark  could  pos- 
sibly assemble.  Nevertheless  the  American  determined 
upon  its  capture.  The  day  that  he  received  the  news 
from  Vigo  was  the  real  crucial  moment  of  the  expedi- 
tion, and  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  history  of  the 
northwest  territory  turned  upon  his  decision. 

To  anticipate  the  course  of  events  a  little,  France  and 
Spain  in  the  negotiations  for  peace  at  the  close  of  the  war 
were  only  too  anxious  to  limit  the  western  boundary  of 
the  United  States  to  the  Alleghenies,  a  desire  which  Eng- 
land naturally  shared.  Spain  bent  all  the  resources  of  a 
diplomacy  by  no  means  insignificant  to  bring  about  this 
result.  The  one  argument  by  which  Franklin  and  his 


George  Rogers  Clark  229 

fellow-counsellors  were  able  to  insist  that  the  western 
boundary  should  be  the  Mississippi  and  not  the  Alleghe- 
nies,  was  the  fact  that  the  country  had  been  conquered  by 
Clark,  retained  by  him,  and  was  now  actually  in  the 
power  of  the  United  States.  That  conquest  would  not 
have  been  complete,  however,  and  the  retention  impos- 
sible, if  Hamilton  had  been  left  in  possession  of  Vin- 
cennes.  Therefore  it  was  not  only  for  his  own  safety, 
not  only  to  hold  Kaskaskia,  but  in  order  that  he  might 
establish  a  valid  claim  to  the  whole  great  territory  that 
Clark  determined  upon  action. 

IV.     The  Terrible  March 

He  made  his  preparations  with  the  same  promptitude 
as  he  made  his  decision.  A  large  bateaux  which  he  called 
the  Willing  was  hastily  improvised,  loaded  with  provisions 
and  supplies,  and  provided  with  two  pieces  of  artillery 
and  four  swivels.  Captain  Rogers,  a  kinsman  of  the  gen- 
eral, was  placed  in  command  with  forty  men  and  ordered 
to  make  all  haste  via  the  Mississippi,  the  Ohio  and  the 
Wabash,  to  an  appointed  rendezvous  near  Vincennes. 

Clark,  with  the  balance  of  his  officers  and  men  and  two 
companies  of  French  Creoles,  who  volunteered  to  accom- 
pany him,  commanded  respectively  by  Captains  McCarty 
and  Charleville,  made  ready  to  march  overland.  Clark's 
original  force  had  been  reduced  to  one  hundred  men. 
By  pleadings  and  promises  he  had  induced  that  number 
to  remain  with  him  after  their  three  months'  term  of  en- 
listment had  expired.  These  he  took  with  him.  The  Cre- 
ole additions  raised  the  total  force  to  one  hundred  and 
seventy,  with  a  few  pack-horses  to  carry  the  scanty  sup- 
plies they  could  procure. 

They  set  forth  on  the  4th  of  February,  1779,  so  rapid 


230        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

had  been  their  preparations,  upon  one  of  the  most  mem- 
orable marches  ever  undertaken  under  the  American  flag. 
One  hundred  and  forty  miles  as  the  crow  flies,  and  some 
two  hundred  over  the  usual  trail  lay  between  him  and  his 
destination.  The  only  undertaking  in  our  history  that 
can  be  compared  to  it  is  Arnold's  march  up  the  Kennebec 
to  attack  Quebec.  The  weather  was  cold,  damp  and 
rainy.  The  season  had  been  a  very  wet  one,  and  the 
prairies  were  turned  into  lakes  and  quagmires.  They 
marched  as  rapidly  as  possible  over  the  desolate,  damp, 
wind-swept  plains.  Every  river  and  creek  they  passed 
was  in  full  flood  and  presented  serious  obstacles,  until,  on 
the  1 5th  of  February,  they  came  to  the  two  forks  of  the 
little  Wabash.  Ordinarily  there  is  a  distance  of  three 
miles  between  the  two  channels.  Now  the  whole  coun- 
try lay  under  water,  icy  cold  at  that,  for  five  miles  to  the 
opposite  hills.  There  were  no  roads,  no  boats.  The 
provisions  they  had  carried  were  nearly  exhausted.  The 
game  had  been  driven  away  by  the  floods,  and  they  were 
without  food  or  fire. 

Plunging  into  the  icy  water  Clark  led  his  men,  carry- 
ing their  rifles  and  powder-horns  above  their  heads,  over 
the  bottoms  until  they  reached  the  channel  of  the  river. 
They  had  built  a  rude  canoe  and  a  small  raft  on  the  bank, 
and  now  standing  up  to  their  waists  in  water — in  some 
places  it  was  up  to  their  necks — they  removed  the  bag- 
gage from  the  pack-horses,  ferried  it  across  one  channel, 
built  a  rude  scaffold  of  drift-wood  and  logs  upon  which 
they  stowed  it;  swam  the  horses  over  the  second  channel, 
loaded  them  again,  drove  them  through  the  flood  until 
they  reached  the  other  fork  of  the  river,  where  they  re- 
peated the  process,  and  at  last  got  on  emergent  though 
water-soaked  ground.  The  passage  took  two  days,  dur- 


George  Rogers  Clark  231 

ing  which  they  had  no  opportunity  to  rest.  No  one  had 
a  dry  thread  upon  him.  Orders  were  given  to  fire  no 
guns  except  in  case  of  dire  necessity,  for  fear  of  giving 
alarm  to  the  enemy  they  hoped  to  surprise.  Provisions 
were  lower  than  ever. 

The  next  day  they  marched  along  through  the  water, 
resting  for  the  night  upon  a  damp  hill,  and  on  the  i/th 
they  reached  a  river,  well  called  the  Embarrass,  which 
flows  into  the  Wabash  a  short  distance  below  Vincennes. 
Here  they  found  a  more  serious  condition  prevailing. 
Both  rivers  had  overflowed,  and  as  far  as  they  could  see 
was  a  waste  of  water.  They  sent  out  parties  to  look  for 
the  Willing,  to  find  fords,  to  secure  boats,  anything.  No 
success  attended  their  efforts. 

Meanwhile  they  set  to  work  to  make  canoes.  They 
were  literally  starving,  having  had  no  provisions  of  any 
sort  for  two  days !  That  day  they  captured  a  canoe  with 
some  Frenchmen  in  it,  who  had  been  sent  out  of  the 
fort  to  scout.  These  they  detained  as  prisoners.  The 
Frenchmen  added  to  their  discouragement  by  informing 
them  that  the  whole  country  around  Vincennes  was  over- 
flowed, and  it  would  be  impossible  for  the  Americans  to 
reach  the  fort.  Clark,  however,  pushed  on  down  the 
bank  of  the  Embarrass  until  he  reached  the  Wabash. 

At  this  juncture  one  of  the  men  shot  a  deer,  which  was 
divided  among  the  one  hundred  and  seventy  and  fur- 
nished them  with  the  first  food  they  had  had  for  over  two 
days!  It  was  a  scanty  allotment  for  so  many  starved, 
half-drowned  men,  but  it  put  new  heart  into  them,  and 
they  determined  to  press  on.  Indeed,  that  determination 
was  never  out  of  Clark's  mind. 

In  the  canoes  they  had  made  as  best  they  could  they 
crossed  the  Wabash  on  the  2ist. 


232       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

At  this  juncture  the  spirit  of  some  of  the  Creoles  gave 
out,  and  they  wanted  to  return.  The  desire  to  retreat 
was  communicated  even  to  the  Kentuckians,  and  the 
whole  enterprise  trembled  in  the  balance.  Clark,  how- 
ever, was  equal  to  the  occasion.  The  story  goes  that  in 
one  of  the  companies  there  was  a  big  six-foot  two-inch 
sergeant,  from  Virginia.  A  little  drummer-boy,  whose 
antics  and  frolics  had  greatly  amused  the  men,  was 
mounted  on  the  shoulders  of  the  tall  sergeant.  By 
Clark's  command,  the  drummer  beat  the  charge,  while 
the  sergeant  marched  into  the  water. 

"  Forward !  "  thundered  the  commander,  plunging  into 
the  icy  flood.  The  men  laughed,  hesitated,  and  followed 
to  the  last  man.  That  night  they  rested  on  a  hill,  lying 
in  their  soaked  clothes  without  provisions  or  fire. 

For  two  more  days  they  struggled  on  through  the 
waters  until  on  the  23rd  they  were  fortunate  enough  to 
capture  a  canoe  with  some  Indian  squaws  in  it,  in  which 
they  found  a  quarter  of  buffalo  and  some  other  pro- 
visions. Broth  was  soon  made  and  given  to  the  most 
exhausted  of  the  little  band.  Some  of  the  hardier  men 
refused  their  portions  and  generously  gave  them  to 
their  weaker  brethren. 

At  this  time  they  had  drawn  near  enough  to  Vin- 
cennes  to  hear  Fort  Sackville's  morning  and  evening 
guns.  They  were  so  near,  in  fact,  that  they  expected  to 
attack  that  night. 

When  they  began  the  final  march  in  water  varying  in 
depth  from  breast  to  neck,  Clark  took  another  method 
for  putting  heart  into  any  recalcitrants.  He  detached 
Captain  Bowman,  his  best  officer,  with  twenty  men,  and 
told  them  to  bring  up  the  rear  and  to  shoot  the  first  man 
who  faltered.  No  one  did  so.  They  struggled  on 


George  Rogers  Clark  233 

throughout  the  morning  in  the  most  desperate  of  straits. 
The  water  was  covered  with  a  thin  coating  of  ice,  which 
they  broke  as  they  plunged  in.  They  had  managed  to 
get  together  a  number  of  canoes  by  this  time,  and  into 
these  they  put  the  weaker  men.  They  suffered  horribly. 
Clark  himself,  in  spite  of  his  resolute  will  and  magnificent 
strength,  almost  gave  way.  Finally  about  one  o'clock 
they  reached  an  elevation  about  two  miles  from  the  town. 
It  was  covered  with  trees,  and  from  their  shelter,  them- 
selves unseen,  they  could  examine  at  their  leisure  the 
goal  of  their  endeavors. 

The  terrific  march  of  these  iron  men  was  over.  For  the 
last  ten  days  they  had  been  struggling  through  water  and 
ice.  They  had  enjoyed  neither  fire  nor  rest.  Three  or 
four  scanty  meals  had  served  them  during  that  awful  pe- 
riod. They  dried  themselves  as  best  they  could  in  the 
cold  sunshine,  revelling  in  anticipations  of  the  meal  which 
they  hoped  they  could  get  if  they  ever  succeeded  in 
capturing  the  place.  Clark  now  hesitated;  should  he 
fall  on  the  town  at  once,  or  should  he  first  attempt  to  se- 
cure the  neutrality  of  the  people,  which  he  believed  he 
could  do  without  difficulty?  He  wisely  decided  for  the 
latter  plan.  By  one  of  his  French  prisoners  he  despatched 
the  following  crafty  letter : 

"  To  the  Inhabitants  of  Post  St.  Vincents : 

"  Gentlemen : — Being  now  within  two  miles  of  your 
village  with  my  army,  determined  to  take  your  fort  this 
night,  and  not  being  willing  to  surprise  you,  I  take  this 
method  to  request  such  of  you  as  are  true  citizens,  and 
willing  to  enjoy  the  liberty  I  bring  you,  to  remain  still  in 
your  houses.  And  those,  if  any  there  be,  that  are  friends 
to  the  King,  will  instantly  repair  to  the  fort  and  join  the 
Hair-Buyer  General*  and  fight  like  men.  And  if  any 

*  Alluding  to  the  fact  that  Gov.  Hamilton  had  offered  rewards  for  the 
scalps  of  Americans. 


234       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

such,  as  do  not  go  to  the  fort  shall  be  discovered  after- 
wards, they  may  depend  on  severe  punishment.  On 
the  contrary,  those  that  are  true  friends  to  liberty,  may 
depend  on  being  well  treated.  And  I  once  more  request 
them  to  keep  out  of  the  streets;  for  every  one  I  find  in 
arms  on  my  arrival,  I  shall  treat  as  an  enemy. 

"  G.  R.  CLARK." 

Hamilton  and  his  officers  had  carried  things  with  a 
high  hand,  and  the  inhabitants  were  rejoiced  at  the  ap- 
proach of  the  Americans.  Nobody  appears  to  have  be- 
trayed them  to  the  British  commander,  who  was  yet  in 
total  ignorance  of  their  proximity.  He  had  sent  out  Cap- 
tain La  Mothe  to  scout,  and  the  party,  surrounded  by  the 
floods,  had  not  come  back.  Clark  waited  until  nightfall, 
divided  his  army  into  three  companies,  in  order  to  sur- 
round the  post,  and  then  marched  forward  to  the  attack. 

V.     The  Capture  of  Vincennes 

Fort  Sackville  was  an  irregular  enclosure,  the  sides 
varying  in  length  from  sixty  to  two  hundred  feet,  and  en- 
closing some  three  acres  of  ground.  The  stockade  was 
stoutly  built  of  logs  about  eleven  feet  high.  The  garri- 
son was  ample,  and  there  were  several  pieces  of  artillery 
and  swivels  mounted  on  the  walls.  It  was  strong  enough 
to  have  bidden  defiance  to  one  hundred  and  seventy 
starved  and  half-drowned  troops  without  artillery  of  any 
kind,  but  it  did  not. 

It  is  to  Clark's  credit  that  he  refused  to  allow  the 
Piankeshaw  Indians,  who  were  there  in  large  numbers, 
and  who  volunteered  their  services,  to  take  part  in  the  at- 
tack. Marching  silently  through  the  town  Clark  sur- 
rounded the  fort,  which  stood  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
the  men  taking  cover  behind  houses  and  trees.  He 


George  Rogers  Clark  235 

quickly  threw  up  a  slight  breastwork  in  front  of  the 
gate  of  the  stockade,  and  announced  his  presence  by 
opening  a  smart  rifle  fire. 

It  is  related  that  Captain  Helm  and  Colonel  Hamilton 
sat  in  the  latter's  head-quarters  playing  cards  while  a  bowl 
of  apple  toddy  was  brewing  before  the  fire.  Having 
learned  from  the  French  inhabitants  which  were  Hamil- 
ton's head-quarters,  some  of  the  Kentuckians,  in  sport, 
opened  fire  upon  the  chimney,  surmising  that  that  bowl 
of  apple  toddy  would  be  brewing  beneath  it.  As  the  rifles 
cracked,  some  of  the  plaster  fell  into  the  apple  toddy  as 
they  had  intended. 

"  That's  Clark,"  said  Helm,  "  but  d— n  him,  he  needn't 
have  spoiled  my  toddy !  " 

The  garrison  were  even  yet  so  unsuspecting  that  they 
imagined  that  the  firing  was  caused  by  some  drunken  Ind- 
ians, and  it  was  not  until  a  sergeant  was  struck  in  the 
breast  by  a  bullet  and  seriously  wounded  that  they  awa- 
kened to  the  situation.  There  was  a  beating  of  drums  and 
a  hurrying  to  arms,  and  through  the  night  a  smart  fire 
was  kept  up  between  the  contending  parties,  the  British 
blazing  away  fruitlessly  in  every  direction,  the  Americans, 
who  were  scantily  provided  with  powder,  husbanding 
their  fire  and  endeavoring  to  make  every  shot  tell.  Noth- 
ing had  yet  been  seen  of  the  Willing,  and  the  supply  of 
powder  on  the  American  side  was  perilously  low.  Fortu- 
nately they  procured  enough  from  one  of  the  friendly  in- 
habitants to  keep  up  the  engagement.  From  the  same 
friendly  source  they  also  got  a  good  breakfast,  which  was 
as  useful  almost  as  the  powder. 

Learning  from  the  inhabitants  that  Captain  La  Mothe's 
party  was  still  at  large,  and  being  desirous  of  capturing  the 
British  force  intact,  Clark  withdrew  some  of  his  men  dur- 


236       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

ing  the  night,  and  left  the  way  open  for  La  Mothe  to  enter 
the  fort,  which  he  did,  the  Americans  by  their  command- 
er's orders  withholding  their  fire.  Clark  was  sure  that  he 
had  them  all  then.  When  the  morning  came  the  sur- 
prised Hamilton  found  himself  completely  surrounded  by 
the  besiegers,  of  whose  numbers  he  was  entirely  ignorant, 
although  the  fact  that  they  were  there  at  all  was  evidence 
of  their  quality.  The  firing  was  kept  up  with  such  effect 
by  the  rifles  of  the  Kentuckians  that  it  became  impossible 
for  the  British  to  serve  the  guns.  As  soon  as  a  port-hole 
was  opened  a  stream  of  bullets  was  poured  into  it.  The 
condition  of  the  British  was  serious,  so  they  thought  at 
any  rate. 

Early  in  the  morning  Clark  sent  the  following  peremp- 
tory letter  to  Hamilton : 

"  Sir. — In  order  to  save  yourself  from  the  impending 
storm  that  now  threatens  you,  I  order  you  immediately 
to  surrender  yourself,  with  all  your  garrison,  stores,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.  For  if  I  am  obliged  to  storm,  you  may  depend 
on  such  treatment  as  is  justly  due  to  a  murderer.  Beware 
of  destroying  stores  of  any  kind,  or  any  papers,  or  letters, 
that  are  in  your  possession;  for,  by  Heavens,  if  you  do, 
there  shall  be  no  mercy  shown  you. 

"  G.  R.  CLARK." 

To  this  he  received  the  following  reply : 

"  Governor  Hamilton  begs  leave  to  acquaint  Colonel 
Clark  that  he  and  his  garrison  are  not  disposed  to  be 
awed  into  an  action  unworthy  of  British  subjects." 

Nevertheless  by  this  time  the  British  were  badly  scared, 
and  after  another  interchange  of  shots  Hamilton  asked 
first  for  a  truce  of  three  days  and  then  for  a  parley. 
Finally  a  meeting  was  appointed.  Hamilton,  attended 
by  Major  Hay,  his  second,  and  Captain  Helm,  his  pris- 


George  Rogers  Clark  237 

oner,  met  Clark.  The  American  general  was  furious. 
He  refused  to  listen  to  any  proposed  arrangements.  It 
was  surrender  at  discretion,  or  nothing  at  all.  It  was 
many  long  years  after  that  day  that  a  certain  little  man 
from  Illinois  made  the  world  ring  with  the  phrase  "  Un- 
conditional Surrender,"  yet  that  was  the  purport  and 
nearly  the  wording  of  Clark's  terms. 

He  vowed  he  would  put  to  death  any  Indian  partisans 
in  Hamilton's  command,  and  when  asked  whom  he  meant, 
replied  that  Major  Hay. had  been  one  of  those  who  had 
led  war-parties  against  the  settlements.  When  Helm  at- 
tempted to  interfere  and  say  a  word  in  favor  of  the  Brit- 
ish, Clark  sternly  silenced  him,  telling  him  as  a  prisoner 
he  had  no  right  to  discuss  the  matter.  Hamilton  prompt- 
ly offered  to  release  Helm,  and  Clark  with  equal  prompt- 
ness refused  to  accept  him  then.  Hamilton  begged  hard 
for  other  conditions,  but  the  inflexible  American,  regard- 
ing him  also  as  a  murderer  as  well  as  a  coward,  would 
grant  no  terms.  Therefore  Hamilton  returned  to  the 
fort,  having  been  given  an  hour  to  make  up  his  mind. 

A  party  of  Indians  friendly  to  the  English,  who  had 
been  on  a  scalp  hunt,  came  back  during  the  morning  with 
the  ghastly  trophies  of  their  prowess  hanging  at  their 
belts;  one  scalp  was  that  of  a  woman.  Ignorant  of  the 
presence  of  the  Americans,  they  ran  right  into  their  arms, 
and  two  were  killed,  two  were  wounded,  and  six  captured. 
While  the  conference  between  Clark  and  Hamilton  was 
going  on,  the  six  captured  Indians  were  taken  out  before 
the  fort,  where  the  garrison  could  see  them,  summarily 
tomahawked,  and  their  bodies  cast  into  the  river.  Clark 
was  not  actually  present  when  the  savage  and  bloody  rep- 
aration was  taken,  but  it  was  by  his  orders,  and  he  was  re- 
sponsible. Hamilton  was  unable  to  resist  the  clamor  of 


238       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

the  garrison  after  this  sight  and,  upon  Clark's  final  agree- 
ment to  treat  them  as  prisoners  of  war,  he  surrendered  the 
fort  at  discretion. 

The  next  morning  the  British  marched  out  and  deliv- 
ered their  arms  to  the  Americans,  who  marched  in  and 
hoisted  the  stars  and  stripes  for  the  second  time  in  In- 
diana. The  Americans  fired  a  salute  of  thirteen  guns 
from  the  British  cannon.  During  the  progress  of  the  sa- 
lute twenty  cartridges  for  the  six-pound  guns  blew  up  and 
wounded  some  of  the  Kentuckjans.  Among  them  was 
the  brave  Captain  Bowman,  who  died  several  months 
after,  it  is  believed,  from  injuries  received  in  this  disaster. 

Save  one  wounded  soldier  these  were  the  only  casual- 
ties on  the  American  side  in  the  expedition.  The  loss  in 
killed  and  wounded  on  the  part  of  the  British  was  also 
small.  The  Willing  came  up  soon  after,  and  Captain 
Bowman  was  sent  forward  with  a  party  of  soldiers  to 
intercept  a  convoy  of  provisions  and  supplies  from  De- 
troit, which  he  did  in  a  handsome  manner,  capturing 
everybody  in  the  escort. 

The  campaign  was  ended.  The  English  plans  to  re- 
possess Indiana  and  Illinois  failed  in  every  direction ;  in- 
deed, save  for  one  abortive  attempt,  nothing  further  was 
done  to  dislodge  the  Americans.  On  the  other  hand, 
Clark  could  never  assemble  sufficient  force  to  enable  him 
to  take  Detroit,  which  was  the  sole  position  held  by  the 
British  at  the  end  of  the  war;  with  that  exception  the 
country  remained  in  his  possession. 

VI.     Forgotten ! 

Clark  performed  other  services  during  the  war;  finding 
himself  on  one  occasion  in  Virginia  when  Arnold  invaded 
it,  he  joined  Von  Steuben  as  a  volunteer,  and  fought  gal- 
lantly under  him.  Virginia  promoted  him  to  be  a  briga- 


George  Rogers  Clark  239 

dier-general,  and  presented  him  with  a  sword,  which,  by 
the  way,  owing  to  the  straitened  finances  caused  by  the 
war,  was  a  second-hand  one,  although  the  best  that  could 
be  procured  at  the  time.  Clark  continued  in  the  service 
of  the  state,  headed  several  expeditions  against  the  Ind- 
ians, got  himself  mixed  up  with  the  Spanish  authorities 
and  had  his  actions  disavowed  by  the  United  States,  and 
was  finally  dismissed  the  Virginia  service,  on  the  plea  of 
poverty,  which  was  true  enough. 

He  had  never  enjoyed  a  commission  in  the  Continental 
service,  and  the  dismissal  left  him  without  employment. 
The  remainder  of  his  long  life  is  a  sad  story  of  disappoint- 
ment and  neglect.  He  was  still  a  young  man,  and  his  years 
might  have  been  filled  with  valuable  service  to  his  coun- 
try. His  marvellous  campaign  had  evidenced  his  quali- 
ties, but  he  became  so  embittered  by  the  ungrateful  treat- 
ment he  had  received  that  he  fell  into  bad  habits.  He 
drank  to  excess.  He  had  no  wife  or  children,  and  lived 
alone  for  many  years,  hunting,  fishing,  and  indulging  his 
appetite  with  such  of  his  old  friends  or  comrades  as 
chanced  to  visit  his  cabin,  which  was  erected  on  a  six- 
thousand-acre  grant  of  land  Virginia  made  to  him  when 
she  ceded  the  northwest  territory  to  the  United  States. 
He  was  land-poor  and  lonely. 

Four  years  before  he  died  he  was  stricken  with  paraly- 
sis. He  was  alone  in  his  cabin  at  the  time  and  fell  into 
the  fire,  which  so  severely  burned  one  leg  that  it  had  to  be 
amputated.  It  is  related  that  he  desired  a  fife  and  a  drum 
to  be  played  outside  the  house  while  the  operation  was 
being  performed.  It  was  before  the  days  of  anaesthetics, 
and  the  grim  old  soldier  sat  in  his  chair  and  had  his  leg 
taken  off  without  an  expression  of  emotion,  while  mar- 
tial music  was  being  dinned  in  his  ears.  He  found  a  home 
in  his  last  helpless  years  in  the  house  of  his  sister,  Mrs. 


240       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Croghan,  opposite  Louisville,  and  there  quietly  slept 
away  his  life  on  February  13,  1818.  He  did  much  and 
suffered  much — we  may  forgive  him  the  rest. 

There  is  a  story  that  when  his  means  were  at  last  ex- 
hausted, and  he  could  not  obtain  any  settlement  of  his 
just  claim  against  the  state,  he  thrust  the  sword  which 
Virginia  had  presented  to  him  in  the  ground,  broke  it  off 
at  the  hilt,  and  threw  the  pieces  away  with  the  bitter  re- 
mark, "  When  Virginia  wanted  a  sword,  I  gave  her  mine. 
Now  she  sends  me  a  toy.  I  want  bread !  "  In  his  pa- 
ralysis, the  state,  leaving  his  claims  still  unsettled,  seems  to 
have  sent  him  another  sword ! 

Years  after  his  death  the  tardy  government  of  the 
United  States  settled  his  claim  against  it  for  the  expenses 
incurred  in  his  heroic  campaigning,  in  which  he  had  ex- 
hausted all  his  private  fortune.  It  was  not  until  1877 
that  the  claim  of  the  heirs  of  Francis  Vigo  for  a  portion 
of  the  money  which  he  had  given  to  assist  the  northwest 
territory  was  allowed !  As  Vigo  left  no  wife  or  children 
the  money  was  paid  to  collateral  heirs.  Even  poor  old 
Father  Gibault,  who  had  done  such  good  service  in  secur- 
ing Vincennes  and  had  given  his  own  little  property  to 
Clark,  in  the  endeavor  to  circulate  the  depreciated  paper 
of  the  government,  died  in  abject  poverty,  unrequited. 

I  do  not  know  a  more  heroic  achievement  in  our  his- 
tory than  Clark's  capture  of  Vincennes.  I  do  not  know 
in  our  history  of  greater  results  from  slenderer  means  than 
Clark's  subjugation  of  the  northwest.  I  do  not  know  in 
our  history  a  sadder  picture  than  the  broken,  paralyzed 
old  man,  alone  in  his  cabin ;  and  lastly,  I  do  not  recall  in 
any  history  a  more  moving  example  of  national  ingrat- 
itude than  that  experienced  by  the  priest,  the  Spaniard, 
and  the  soldier. 


PART  V 
THE    NORTHWEST   TERRITORY 

II 

Tecumseh  and  William  Henry  Harrison 


TECUMSEH    AND    WILLIAM     HENRY 
HARRISON 

I.     The  Greatest  of  the  Indians 

TO  decide  who  is  the  greatest  man  of  a  race,  a  na- 
tion, or  a  period,  is  by  no  means  easy;  and  any 
determination  that  may  be  arrived  at,  is  likely  to 
find  as  many  opponents  as  advocates.  Yet  I  am  of  the 
opinion  that  mature  reflection  will  concede  the  fullest 
measure  of  greatness  among  the  red  men  to  Tecumseh. 
In  four  centuries  of  American  history,  at  least  three, 
and  possibly  four,  Indians  may  be  called  great,  even 
when  measured  by  civilized  standards.  Joseph  Brandt, 
or  Thayendenegea,  the  Iroquois,  who  is  the  possible 
fourth,  but  who  would  popularly  be  considered  first,  may 
not  be  taken  as  a  fair  representative  of  his  race,  for  he  was 
educated  and  his  character  formed  by  civilized  influence, 
though  the  results  of  this  influence — from  the  stand-point 
of  civilization — were  not  always  apparent.  To  be  sure  he 
was  no  worse  than,  in  fact  not  half  so  bad  as,  many  of 
his  British  contemporaries.  But  the  three  pure-blooded 
Indians  who  became  what  they  were  in  the  natural  savage 
environment  of  their  race  and  time,  stand  far  above  this 
veneered  Iroquois  in  character,  purpose,  or  achievement. 
The  third  in  degree  was  the  first  in  point  of  time.  Met- 
acomet,  the  Wampanoag,  known  as  King  Philip,  was  the 
engineer  of  that  formidable  conspiracy  which  had  as  its 
object  the  sweeping  of  the  English  into  the  sea,  and  as  its 

243 


244       Border   Fights  and  Fighters 

hope  the  clearing  of  the  new  land  of  those  European  in- 
vaders with  whom  the  savage  chief  found  himself  en- 
gaged in  a  struggle  of  life  or  death  to  his  race. 

King  Philip  belonged  to  the  Algonquin  family.  Near- 
ly a  hundred  years  after  his  death  in  1676,  Pontiac,  the 
great  war-chief  of  the  Ottawas,  born  a  Catawba,  and 
therefore  of  the  Mobilian  family,  launched  his  formidable 
conspiracy  upon  the  English  posts  from  Fort  Pitt  to 
Michilimackinac  in  1763.  Although  he  captured  eight 
forts  out  of  the  twelve  attacked,  and  inaugurated  a  cam- 
paign of  devastation  and  horror  upon  the  borders  of  the 
northwest,  he  failed  at  Detroit,  and  in  the  end  was  assassi- 
nated by  a  hired  traitor  belonging  to  a  petty  Illinois  tribe. 

Tecumseh,  the  greatest  of  the  trio  and  the  man  who 
stands  higher  than  any  Indian  who  ever  lived,  had  a  deep- 
er view  of  the  situation.  While  perhaps  not  so  romantic 
as  King  Philip,  nor  so  bold  and  fierce  as  Pontiac,  he  was 
the  one  solitary  Indian  who  had,  in  addition  to  the  tra- 
ditional characteristics  of  a  warrior,  the  qualities  of  a 
statesman.  Philip  fought  to  drive  the  English  into  the 
sea.  Pontiac  to  restore  the  supremacy  of  the  French  in 
the  land.  With  these  two,  war  was  the  end  and  aim  of 
their  conspiracies.  In  the  case  of  Tecumseh,  it  was  the 
inevitable  result  of  his  endeavor,  but  it  was  not  its  pri- 
mary object. 

With  a  discernment  and  prescience  which  would  not 
have  been  out  of  place  in  a  modern  philosopher,  Tecum- 
seh realized  that  the  object  of  the  struggle,  as  well  as  the 
advantage  of  the  situation,  lay  in  the  possession  of  the 
land. 

He  declared  that  the  land  occupied  by  the  different 
tribes  of  Indians  belonged  to  them  all  in  common;  that 
they  could  only  hold  it  in  severally  as  tenants;  that  each 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          245 

tribe  had  title  to  the  land  it  actually  occupied,  only  while 
it  occupied  it ;  and  that  no  cession  of  territory  of  whatso- 
ever degree  could  be  made  to  the  white  man  by  any  tribe 
for  any  purpose,  without  the  general  consent  of  all  the 
tribes!  To  enforce  this  profound  and  catholic  princi- 
ple, and  to  make  it  operative,  he  formed  a  league  of  the 
Trans-Allegheny  tribes,  extending  from  the  Great  Lakes 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

He,  and  he  alone,  seems  to  have  discerned  the  folly, 
from  the  Indian  point  of  view,  of  the  alienation  by  partic- 
ular tribes  of  vast  bodies  of  land  to  the  Americans.  He 
saw  that  in  a  very  short  time  there  would  be  no  foot  of 
land  owned  by  the  Indian  on  the  hither  side  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, hence  the  league.  This  evidences  his  capacity, 
his  genius,  and  his  title  to  pre-eminence.  Alone  of  all  the 
Indians  he  entertained  this  idea  and  he  came  perilously 
near  putting  it  into  operation.  Had  he  been  a  Greek,  a 
Roman,  a  Frenchman,  a  German,  or  an  Englishman  he 
would  have  been  called  a  patriot  and  a  hero.  James  Par- 
ton  says  of  him : 

"  Every  race  produces  superior  individuals,  whose  lives 
constitute  its  heroic  ages.  Investigation  establishes  that 
Tecumseh,  though  not  the  faultless  ideal  of  a  patriot 
prince  that  romantic  story  represents  him,  was  all  of  a  pa- 
triot, a  hero,  a  MAN,  that  an  Indian  can  be.  If  to  con- 
ceive a  grand,  difficult,  and  unselfish  project;  to  labor  for 
many  years  with  enthusiasm  and  prudence  in  attempting 
its  execution;  to  enlist  in  it  by  the  magnetism  of  personal 
influence  great  multitudes  of  various  tribes;  to  contend 
for  it  with  unfaltering  valor  longer  than  there  was  hope 
of  success;  and  to  die  fighting  for  it  to  the  last,  falling  for- 
ward toward  the  enemy  covered  with  wounds,  is  to  give 
proof  of  an  heroic  cast  of  character,  then  is  the  Shawnee 


246        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

chief,  Tecumseh,  in  whose  veins  flowed  no  blood  that  was 
not  Indian,  entitled  to  rank  among  Heroes." 

General  William  Henry  Harrison  adds  this  testimony 
to  his  character  and  abilities : 

"  He  was  one  of  those  uncommon  geniuses  which 
spring  up  occasionally  to  produce  revolutions,  and  over- 
turn the  established  order  of  things.  If  it  were  not  for 
the  vicinity  of  the  United  States,  he  would,  perhaps,  be 
the  founder  of  an  empire  that  would  rival  in  glory  Mexico 
or  Peru.  No  difficulties  deter  him.  For  four  years  he 
has  been  in  constant  motion.  You  see  him  to-day  on  the 
Wabash,  and  in  a  short  time  hear  of  him  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Erie  or  Michigan,  or  on  the  banks  of  the  Missis- 
sippi; and  wherever  he  goes  he  makes  an  impression 
favorable  to  his  purposes." 

Three  boys  were  born  at  a  single  birth  in  the  latter  part 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  date  uncertain,  near  where  is 
now  Springfield,  Ohio.  Their  father  was  a  Shawnee  (Al- 
gonquin) and  their  mother  a  captive  Creek  (Mobilian). 
Thus  they  represented  in  their  own  persons  the  great  eth- 
nic divisions  of  the  Indian  race,  a  fact  of  no  little  import- 
ance in  their  subsequent  career. 

One  of  the  trio  may  be  dismissed  from  consideration, 
since  nothing  is  known  of  him  but  his  name.  The  eldest 
of  the  triplets  was  called  Tecumthe,  at  least  this  appears 
to  be  the  approved  orthography,  but  he  has  gone  into 
history  under  the  name  of  Tecumseh,  and  it  is  not  now 
worth  while  to  change  it.  His  name  means  "  the  wild 
cat  that  leaps  upon  his  prey."  He  is  described  as  a  tall, 
athletic,  handsome  man,  of  noble  and  commanding  pres- 
ence. To  his  well-earned  reputation  as  a  warrior  was 
added  a  fluent  and  persuasive  oratory.  Although  he  was 
not  born  a  chief  he  easily  raised  himself  to  a  position  of 


Tecumseh  and   Harrison          24? 

general  leadership  by  his  talents.  He  was  a  formidable 
foeman  indeed. 

The  second  child  was  known  as  "  the  Prophet;"  his 
Indian  name  being  Elkswatawa,  the  word  signifying  "  the 
man  with  the  loud  voice."  It  is  probable  that  neither  of 
these  names  was  bestowed  upon  the  boys  until  advancing 
years  had  given  their  elders  some  inkling  of  their  charac- 
ters. Indeed,  it  is  asserted  that  Elkswatawa  was  a  drunk- 
en, dissolute  vagabond  in  his  early  years,  and  for  his  ca- 
pacity for  imbibing  liquors  was  formerly  known  as  "  The 
Open  Door."  He  had  lost  an  eye  in  some  drunken  brawl 
which  did  not  improve  his  sly  and  sinister  cast  of  counte- 
nance. His  brother,  it  is  supposed,  finally  reformed  him. 
That  is,  he  outwardly  reformed  him.  Elkswatawa  quit 
drinking  and  abandoned  his  wicked  courses,  but  the  fund 
of  lies  with  which  he  had  been  charged  was  got  rid  of  so 
slowly  that  he  never  exhausted  his  stock.  He  had  noth- 
ing whatever  of  the  nobility  of  soul,  the  breadth  of 
thought,  or  the  depth  of  intellect  of  Tecumseh,  yet  he  was 
shrewd,  cunning,  and  in  his  way,  capable. 

He  lent  to  the  league  the  element  of  the  supernatural. 
He  gave  to  the  plan  of  Tecumseh  the  sanction  of  religion. 
He  posed  as  the  prophet  of  the  new  undertaking  of  which 
Tecumseh  was  the  leader.  And  because  he  was  small  in 
character  and  did  not  measure  up  to  the  greatness  of  his 
brother,  by  his  folly  he  gave  the  opportunity  by  which  the 
blow  was  dealt  that  broke  up  what  was  undoubtedly  the 
most  formidable  savage  confederacy  with  which  the 
American  border  was  ever  menaced.  It  is,  probable,  in- 
deed, that  he  finally  imposed  upon  himself,  and  believing 
in  his  own  prophecies,  was  thereby  "  hoist  by  his  own 
petard !  " 

Exhibiting  a  remarkable  degree  of  patience  and  self- 


248       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

restraint,  for  several  years  Tecumseh  worked  at  his  plans 
with  indefatigable  energy,  travelling  from  one  end  of  the 
country  to  the  other  and  gradually  organizing  the  tribes 
into  his  confederacy,  and  impressing  upon  them  his  great 
idea.  The  Indian  character  is  not  favorable  to  such  con- 
federacies or  combinations,  but  had  it  not  been  for  the 
precipitate  action  of  the  prophet  it  is  possible  that  Te- 
cumseh might  have  met  with  so  large  a  measure  of  success 
in  his  attempts  as  to  have  changed  the  history  of  the  bor- 
der to  a  great  degree. 

II.     The  Protagonist  of  the  League 

It  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  whole  scheme  tumbled  to 
pieces  like  a  house  of  cards,  at  a  single  bloody  touch  in 
the  northwest,  although  in  the  south  there  was  a  long 
and  hard-fought  war,  especially  with  the  Creeks,  which 
was  entirely  due  to  the  efforts  of  the  great  Shawnee.  The 
man  who  shrewdly  took  advantage  of  Tecumseh's  absence 
and  the  folly  of  Elkswatawa,  to  break  up  the  league,  and 
finally  to  cause  the  death  of  the  great  chieftain,  was  Will- 
iam Henry  Harrison.  The  history  of  three  years  was  a 
sort  of  duel  between  the  two,  with  the  northwest  territory 
as  the  reward  of  success;  and,  as  is  always  the  case,  the 
white  man  won. 

It  is  only  of  late  that  the  reason  for  the  importance  in 
which  the  battles  of  Tippecanoe  and  the  Thames  have 
been  held  instinctively  by  the  people  of  the  central  west 
has  come  to  light.  They  were  small  affairs,  as  battles  go, 
though  gallantly  fought  on  both  sides,  but  their  conse- 
quences were  far-reaching;  the  one  broke  up  the  scheme, 
the  other  removed  the  schemer! 

If  Tecumseh  could  have  matured  his  plans  without  mo- 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          249 

lestation,  if  he  had  had  time  to  have  brought  all  the  Ind- 
ians on  this  side  of  the  Mississippi  into  subserviency  to 
his  will,  and  had  thrown  them  upon  the  American  border, 
in  let  us  say,  the  war  of  1812,  as  he  did  those  whom  he 
could  influence,  the  situation  would  have  been  grave  in- 
deed. The  border  would  have  been  devastated,  the  fron- 
tier settlements  wiped  out,  the  war  of  1812  would  have 
been  indefinitely  prolonged  with  horrors  indescribable. 
As  it  was,  had  it  not  been  for  him  and  his  Indians,  a  large 
part  of  western  Canada  would  have  belonged  to  the 
United  States  by  conquest. 

Harrison  was  a  Virginian.  The  west  was  explored,  con- 
quered, and  protected,  generally  speaking,  by  men  from 
the  south  of  Mason's  and  Dixon's  line — a  fact  usually  lost 
sight  of  in  our  histories.  His  ancestry,  which  included  a 
signer  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  from  Virginia, 
could  be  traced  back  to  one  of  Cromwell's  indomitable 
Ironsides,  and  far  beyond.  After  graduating  from 
Hampden-Sydney  College  he  secured  a  commission  in 
the  regular  army,  against  the  advice  of  Robert  Morris, 
his  guardian.  His  first  military  experience  was  enjoyed 
under  the  personal  instruction  of  that  splendid  revolu- 
tionary and  border  campaigner,  Anthony  Wayne. 

He  was  one  of  Wayne's  aides  in  the  war  in  the  north- 
west which  culminated  in  the  victory  of  Fallen  Timbers; 
where,  by  the  way,  Tecumseh  is  alleged  to  have  distin- 
guished himself  on  the  Indian  side.  He  was  a  close  stu- 
dent of  military  matters,  and  his  native  talents  as  a 
soldier  enabled  him,  a  boy  of  nineteen,  to  prepare  an 
order  of  march  for  the  army  as  it  advanced  through 
the  country  of  the  hostile  Indians,  which  was  adopted 
unanimously  by  Wayne  and  the  veteran  officers  to  whom 
it  was  submitted. 


250       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Harrison  was  the  incarnation  of  personal  daring  and 
romantic  gallantry.  He  married  his  wife  in  opposition  to 
the  wishes  of  her  father,  a  certain  Judge  Symmes,  uncle 
of  the  man  who  originated  the  absurd  "  Symmes  Hole  " 
theory  of  the  North  Pole. 

"  Well,  sir,"  sternly  said  the  old  judge  to  the  young 
captain  when  he  learned  of  the  wedding,  "  I  understand 
that  you  have  married  Anna." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  How  do  you  expect  to  support  her?  " 

"  By  my  sword  and  by  my  right  arm,"  was  the  doughty 
reply.  And  it  may  be  said  that  no  woman  ever  depended 
upon  two  more  reliable  things  than  those. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  resigned  the  army,  was 
made  secretary  of,  then  delegate  to  Congress  from,  the 
northwest  territory;  and  was  subsequently  (1801)  ap- 
pointed the  governor  of  the  newly  erected  Indiana  Terri- 
tory, which  owes  much  to  his  fostering  care  and  judicious 
administration. 

By  the  summer  of  181 1  Tecumseh's  league  had  become 
so  formidable  that  he  ventured  formally  to  protest  against 
a  treaty  which  had  been  signed  at  Fort  Wayne  in  1809,  by 
some  of  the  tribes,  ceding  some  three  million  acres  of 
Indiana  land  to  the  United  States  for  some  eight  thou- 
sand dollars  and  annuities  aggregating  less  than  twenty- 
four  hundred  dollars ! 

This  tribal  action  was  in  opposition  to  his  communal 
principle,  and  a  council  was  appointed  to  discuss  the 
matter.  In  violation  of  agreement  Tecumseh  came  to 
Vincennes  with  four  hundred  armed  Indians.  The  pro- 
ceedings of  the  council  were  interrupted  by  the  threaten- 
ing attitude  of  the  Indians.  Harrison  at  one  time  drew 
his  sword  and  rallied  his  small  company  of  guards  about 


"  Messengers  brought  letters     .     .     .     appealing 
for  vengeance  or  protection." 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          251 

him,  fearing  he  would  have  to  fight  the  angry  Indians  at 
once.  Only  his  courage  and  coolness  prevented  a  serious 
and  bloody  rupture  then  and  there.* 

Matters  were  patched  up,  however;  time  was  not  ripe 
for  Tecumseh's  revolt  yet,  and  it  was  finally  agreed  that 
the  matter  should  be  referred  to  the  President  of  the 
United  States.  As  it  would  take  some  time  to  hear  from 
this  referee,  whose  decision  might  easily  be  imagined,  Te- 
cumseh, who  had  been  merely  playing  for  time,  left  the 
northwest  and  hastened  south  for  a  final  appeal  to  the 
Indians  of  that  section,  leaving  the  charge  of  affairs  of  the 
northwest  to  the  Prophet,  with  strict  instructions  to  per- 
mit no  rupture  during  his  absence.  His  departure  was 
fatal  to  his  hopes,  a  mistake  which  caused  the  downfall  of 
the  confederacy.  The  Prophet's  control  of  the  Indians 
was  not  nearly  so  complete  as  that  of  his  brother,  and  a 
series  of  petty  forays,  farm-burnings,  murderings,  and  so 
forth,  exasperated  and  irritated  the  settlers  almost  beyond 
endurance.  Messengers  brought  letters  to  the  Governor 
from  all  parts  of  the  territory  appealing  for  vengeance  or 
protection.  They  had  been  hot  for  a  punitive  expedition 
from  the  first,  indeed  it  is  likely  that  one  would  have  been 
undertaken  if  the  Indians  had  remained  quiet,  so  splendid 
a  chance  being  afforded  the  Americans  by  Tecumseh's 
absence  in  the  south.  It  was  therefore  soon  determined 
that  Harrison  should  march  into  the  disputed  territory 

*  Tecumseh  refused  to  go  under  a  roof  to  hold  this  council. 

"Houses,"  he  said  haughtily,  "were  built  for  you  to  hold  councils  in  ; 
Indians  hold  theirs  in  the  open  air."  After  he  had  finished  his  speech  one 
of  Harrison's  aides  pointed  to  a  chair,  saying,  "Your  father  requests  you 
to  take  a  seat  by  his  side."  "My  father!"  replied  the  chief  scornfully, 
as  he  stood  erect  before  them;  "the  sun  is  my  father,  and  the  earth  is  my 
mother.  On  her  bosom  I  will  recline,"  he  added,  as  he  sat  down  upon  the 
ground. 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

and  make  a  demonstration  in  force  which  should  at  least 
compel  the  Prophet  and  his  followers  to  observe  the 
status  quo  until  the  President  had  been  heard  from,  and 
which,  if  opportunity  served,  might  do  more  serious  work. 
As  usual  in  our  Indian  difficulties,  there  was  black  treach- 
ery on  both  sides. 

Troops  had  already  been  assembled  at  Vincennes,  the 
territorial  capital.  They  were  few  in  number  but  high  in 
quality,  the  nucleus  of  the  force  being  the  Fourth  U.  S. 
Infantry,  ordered  from  Pittsburg,  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  John  P.  Boyd.  Boyd  was  a  Yankee  soldier  of 
fortune.  After  three  years'  service  in  the  regular  army 
he  resigned  his  commission  and  went  to  India,  where  he 
took  service  under  the  Nizam  of  Hyderabad.  He  came 
back,  after  a  sojourn  of  nine  years,  with  substantial  evi- 
dences of  the  favor  of  the  Indian  potentate,  and  was  at 
once  appointed  colonel  of  the  Fourth  Infantry.  Around 
this  force  had  assembled  a  considerable  body  of  the  Indi- 
ana militia  with  two  companies  of  Kentucky  riflemen. 
These  troops  Harrison  had  trained  and  disciplined  with 
the  most  painstaking  care  and  they  proved  themselves 
fully  the  equals  of  any  American  soldiers  who  ever  fought. 
They  were  in  no  sense  the  disorderly  militiamen,  or 
trained  bands,  which  had  brought  the  name  of  militia  into 
such  disrepute  in  the  first  half  of  the  century.  They  were 
soldiers. 

Among  those  who  repaired  to  his  standard  in  answer 
to  his  call  were  a  number  of  men  of  the  highest  consider- 
ation. Abraham  Owen  and  Jo:  Daviess  of  Kentucky, 
Randolph  of  Indiana,  young  George  Croghan  from  Louis- 
ville, and  many  others.  Daviess  was  the  most  noted 
character.  Tales  of  his  extraordinary  courage,  his  won- 
derful oratorical  power,  his  striking  eccentricities,  still 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          253 

remain.  He  was  the  attorney,  by  the  way,  who  prose- 
cuted Aaron  Burr.  When  he  went  to  Washington  on 
one  occasion,  he  had  a  suit  made  of  red  broadcloth! 
"  How  else,"  he  remarked  when  he  was  questioned  as  to 
the  reason  for  this  marvellous  costume,  "  would  anybody 
know  that  Jo:  Daviess  was  in  town?  "  Daviess  was  in- 
tensely ambitious  of  distinction  and  had  evidently  deter- 
mined to  let  no  opportunity  of  advancing  himself  escape 
him  in  the  coming  campaign. 

The  most  noted  body  of  militia  was  Captain  Spier  Spen- 
cer's company  of  mounted  riflemen  who  were  attached  to 
the  Fourth  regiment  of  Indiana  infantry.  The  men  were 
uniformed  in  short  coatees  of  yellow  and  were  known  as 
Spencer's  "  Yellow  Jackets." 

As  fast  as  the  different  bodies  assembled  at  Vincennes 
they  were  sent  up  the  Wabash.  Boats  carried  the  major 
portion  of  supplies  up  the  river  until  the  site  of  what  is 
now  Terre  Haute,  at  the  head  of  navigation,  was  reached. 
The  force  comprised  nine  companies  of  regulars,  thirteen 
of  Indians  and  two  of  Kentucky  militia;  of  which  seven 
companies,  aggregating  some  two  hundred  and  fifty 
men,  were  mounted.  Here  they  built  a  fort  to  protect 
the  boats  which  it  was  necessary  to  leave  behind.  The 
stockade  was  called  Fort  Harrison,  and  was  garrisoned 
by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Miller,  the  famous  "  I'll  try,  sir," 
officer  of  Lundy's  Lane.  On  October  28th,  1811,  the 
army  numbering  about  a  thousand  men  set  forth  for  the 
Prophet's  town,  which  was  situated  at  the  confluence  of 
Tippecanoe  Creek  and  the  Wabash.  The  word  Tippe- 
canoe  is  a  corruption  of  the  Indian  word  "  Keh-tip-a-quo- 
vvonk,"  meaning  the  "  Great  Clearing." 

The  shortest  way  to  the  town  would  have  been  by  the 
east  bank,  but  as  it  was  thickly  wooded  and  convenient 


254       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

for  Indian  ambuscades,  Harrison  chose  to  take  the  longer 
way  around  the  bend  of  the  river  upon  the  west  bank.  A 
few  miles  brought  the  troops  for  the  first  time  to  the  vast 
prairies  which  stretched  far  westward  through  Illinois, 
and  the  chroniclers  report  the  surprise  and  admiration 
with  which  they  regarded  the  unwonted  landscape.  They 
marched  rapidly  forward  until  on  the  6th  of  November, 
1811,  they  came  to  a  thick  patch  of  woodland  abound- 
ing in  ravines  and  extending  some  miles  to  the  west- 
ward of  the  river.  They  proceeded  through  this  with 
the  greatest  caution,  Harrison  again  adopting  the  ar- 
rangement and  order  of  march  which  he  had  suggested 
in  Wayne's  campaign,  to  guard  against  ambush  and 
surprise. 

In  the  late  afternoon  they  were  met  by  messengers 
from  the  Prophet,  who  professed  to  be  very  much  sur- 
prised at  the  proximity  of  this  formidable  force.  The 
Prophet's  messengers  asked  for  a  council.  They  said 
that  other  messengers  had  been  sent  down  the  east  bank 
to  intercept  the  army,  which  they  had  expected  would 
come  that  way.  After  some  discussion  Harrison  ap- 
pointed a  council  for  the  next  morning. 

Meanwhile  the  American  soldiers  had  been  marching 
up  the  river.  Toward  five  o'clock  they  had  approached 
within  two  hundred  yards  of  the  Prophet's  town.  The 
Indians  massed  themselves  in  front  of  the  town,  and  a  bat- 
tle appeared  imminent.  Harrison,  however,  did  not  think 
it  advisable  to  attack  the  fortified  town  in  daylight,  so  he 
halted  his  men.  The  representations  of  the  Prophet's 
envoys  that  Elkswatawa  was  peaceably  inclined  and  that 
all  differences  would  be  adjusted  at  the  council,  induced 
Harrison  to  encamp  for  the  night.  He  did  not  expect 
the  council  to  bring  about  any  results,  but  he  intended  to 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          255 

hold  it,  and  then  attack  the  town  on  the  following  night. 
The  Prophet  merely  anticipated  him  by  a  night.  Elks- 
watawa  should  have  abandoned  the  town  and  led  his  peo- 
ple in  flight  until  the  Americans  were  no  longer  able  to 
pursue.  The  Indian  plans  were  not  yet  ripe  for  battle, 
and  should  war  begin  in  the  absence  of  Tecumseh  the 
chance  of  savage  success  would  be  slight. 

The  Americans,  being  ignorant  of  the  country,  the  Ind- 
ians were  requested  to  indicate  a  proper  place  for  an  en- 
campment. They  pointed  out  a  knoll  about  a  mile  and  a 
half  to  the  right.  After  it  had  been  examined  by  officers 
and  found  suitable,  Harrison  moved  his  army  there  to 
pass  the  night. 

The  bench  of  land,  or  plateau,  was  in  the  form  of  a  nar- 
row triangle,  the  apex  being  to  the  southeast  and  very 
acute.  It  rested  upon  a  deep  rivulet  called  Bennett's 
Creek,  which  protected  the  rear.  The  base  of  the  trian- 
gle on  a  level  with  the  surrounding  country  was  open  to 
attack.  At  the  back  of  the  hill  the  land  rose  steeply  some 
twenty  feet  above  the  creek.  It  sloped  gently  toward  the 
Prophet's  town  in  front,  and  faced,  after  an  abrupt  descent 
of  ten  feet,  a  stretch  of  marshy  prairie  which  extended  for 
a  long  distance.  The  place  was  thickly  wooded,  the 
ground  cumbered  with  underbrush  and  fallen  timber. 
There  was  plenty  of  wood  and  water,  two  prime  requi- 
sites, and  the  situation  was  fairly  defensible,  especially 
against  regular  troops. 

The  smallness  of  Harrison's  force  rendered  it  impossi- 
ble for  him  to  occupy  the  whole  of  the  plateau.  He 
pitched  his  camp  with  the  rear  resting  on  the  creek  and 
the  lines  were  roughly  drawn  in  the  form  of  a  trapezoid, 
following  the  shape  of  the  hill,  but  at  some  little  distance 
from  the  edge,  the  front  face  occupying  about  seventy- 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

five  yards  and  the  perimeter  of  the  entire  encampment 
being  about  two  hundred  and  fifty. 

Commencing  with  the  northwest  corner,  the  troops 
were  posted  in  the  following  general  order:  The  Ken- 
tuckians  and  one  Indiana  company  occupied  the  left  flank ; 


REGULARS 

IND1ANIANS 

KENTUCKIANS 
CAVALRY 


Plan  of  the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe. 

one  battalion  of  regulars  and  one  of  Indiana  militia 
were  posted  in  the  centre  of  the  front  line;  on  the  right 
flank  were  more  Indiana  militia,  and  Spencer's  company 
occupying  the  point  or  narrow  part  of  the  line.  The  rear 
was  allotted  to  the  remainder  of  the  militia  and  the  second 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          257 

battalion  of  regulars  which  joined  the  Kentuckians  on 
the  northwest  corner.  The  cavalry  under  Daviess  and 
Park  were  posted  in  the  rear  of  the  northeast  angle.  The 
officers'  tents,  those  of  the  regular  troops,  and  the  bag- 
gage train,  were  placed  in  the  centre  of  the  enclosure. 
On  account  of  the  length  to  be  covered  the  men  were 
posted  in  single  rank  fairly  close  together,  and  a  thin  line 
of  humanity  encircled  the  field. 

The  night  was  very  cold.  Rain  fell  at  intervals,  al- 
though toward  morning  the  moon  shone  fitfully  from 
time  to  time  through  the  drifting  clouds.  Huge  fires 
were  kindled,  without  which  it  would  not  have  been  pos- 
sible for  the  troops  to  take  any  rest.  A  camp  guard  of 
over  one  hundred  men  under  experienced  officers,  a  large 
quota  for  so  small  a  body,  was  carefully  posted,  and  in- 
structions as  to  what  should  be  done  in  case  of  a  night  at- 
tack were  promulgated.  The  men  were  ordered  to  lie 
with  their  guns  loaded  and  bayonets  fixed.  Only  the 
regulars  had  tents,  and  in  order  to  keep  their  pieces  dry 
many  of  the  militia  wrapped  their  gun-locks  in  their 
coats  or  blankets  and  lay  uncovered  near  the  fires. 

III.     The  Battle  of  Tippecanoe 

Harrison's  experience  in  Indian  warfare  had  taught 
him  that  it  was  a  wise  precaution  to  awaken  his  men 
early  in  the  morning,  so  as  to  be  prepared  for  attacks 
which  the  Indians  usually  delivered  shortly  before  sun- 
rise. He  had  just  risen,  therefore,  at  four  o'clock  on  the 
morning  of  the  7th,  from  a  few  hours  of  troubled  sleep, 
and  was  pulling  on  his  boots  preparatory  to  leaving  his 
tent  and  giving  the  order  calling  the  men  to  attention, 
when  the  stillness  of  the  night  was  broken  by  the  sound 


258       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

of  a  rifle  shot  which  came  out  of  the  woodland  to  the 
northwest.  It  was  instantly  followed  by  a  fusillade. 

Corporal  Stephen  Mars  of  Kentucky,  the  sentry  whose 
beat  extended  farthest  in  the  woods  to  the  northwest,  had 
detected  dark  bodies  creeping  noiselessly  through  the 
underbrush  toward  his  post.  He  fired  upon  them  in- 
stantly and  then  turned  and  dashed  for  the  camp,  shouting 
in  alarm  as  he  ran.  The  Indians  who  had  approached 
thus  near  the  lines  with  wonderful  skill,  saw  that  conceal- 
ment was  at  an  end.  They  shot  Mars  dead  before  he  had 
gone  a  dozen  paces,  and  then,  shouting  their  war-cries, 
rushed  upon  the  regulars  and  Kentuckians  who  were 
posted  on  either  side  of  that  angle.  Almost  before  the 
startled  men,  so  suddenly  awakened,  were  aware  of  their 
situation,  the  red  warriors  burst  upon  them. 

Seizing  their  weapons,  after  a  single  discharge  of  rifle 
or  musket,  there  being  no  time  for  reloading,  a  desperate 
hand-to-hand  conflict  ensued,  with  rifle  butt  and  bayonet 
against  tomahawk  and  scalping  knife.  Such  was  the  dash 
of  the  Indian  attack  that  the  two  companies  gave  ground, 
as  the  savages  in  apparently  countless  numbers  came 
leaping  upon  them  out  of  the  darkness. 

Meanwhile  the  whole  camp  had  sprung  to  arms.  The 
men  stood  in  line,  peering  out  into  the  black  dark  woods 
surrounding  them,  awaiting  the  next  development,  which 
was  not  long  in  coming,  for  presently  along  the  whole 
front  and  extending  around  the  right  flank  the  crackle  of 
rifles  and  muskets  was  heard,  so  that  the  entire  camp,  save 
for  the  space  protected  by  the  creek,  was  simultaneously 
assailed. 

Up  in  the  northwest  corner  the  condition  of  affairs  was 
indeed  critical.  In  spite  of  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  troops, 
the  Indians  effected  an  entrance  in  the  camp,  and  if  they 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          259 

could  maintain  their  position  the  lines  would  be  taken  in 
the  rear  while  they  were  attacked  in  the  front,  and  the  re- 
sult would  be  annihilation.  Major  Baen  of  the  regulars 
was  mortally  hurt,  Captain  Geiger  of  the  Kentuckians 
wounded,  and  many  other  officers  and  men  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  the  line  was  giving  away  in  great  confusion. 
Some  of  the  Indians  who  had  broken  through  stopped  to 
plunder  the  tents.  It  had  all  happened  in  a  few  moments. 

Harrison  was  equal  to  the  emergency,  however.  He 
acted  with  true  military  promptness.  Not  stopping  for 
anything  he  had  run  from  his  tent  at  the  first  shot.  The 
horses  were  plunging  wildly  at  their  halters  in  the  excite- 
ment and  confusion.  Just  as  the  general  reached  them, 
his  own  horse,  a  white  stallion,  broke  his  halter  and  es- 
caped in  the  darkness.  Harrison  sprang  to  the  back  of 
the  next  one,  which  happened  to  be  a  dark  bay,  and  to 
this  fortunate  circumstance  he  probably  owed  his  life. 
His  principal  aide,  Major  Owen,  was  mounted  upon  a 
white  horse,  his  own.  The  Indians  had  marked  Harri- 
son's white  horse  at  the  meeting  of  the  evening  before, 
and  as  the  general  and  his  aide  galloped  to  the  northwest 
corner,  the  savage  marksmen  singled  out  the  man  on  the 
white  horse  conspicuous  in  the  firelight.  He  was  shot 
and  instantly  killed. 

Harrison  arrived  at  the  angle  just  as  the  regulars  and 
Kentuckians  broke.  He  ordered  Peters'  regular  and 
Cooke's  Indiana  militia  companies  up  from  the  rear,  the 
only  face  unassailed,  formed  them  across  the  gap,  and 
charged  forward  with  them  with  great  spirit  and  success, 
the  shaken  troops  rallying  upon  them  and  reoccupying 
their  old  places.  Not  an  Indian  who  had  entered  the 
lines  was  left  alive  when  the  lines  were  re-established. 
The  first  dash  had  failed,  but  the  Indian  fire  was  kept  up 


260       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

with  unabated  vigor  and  the  camp  was  furiously  assailed 
everywhere. 

Meanwhile  Jo :  Daviess  with  the  cavalry  in  the  opposite 
angle  was  greatly  desirous  of  distinguishing  himself.  As 
the  fighting  continued  and  the  enemy  drew  closer  he  sent 
a  messenger  to  Harrison  requesting  permission  to  charge. 
The  general,  in  the  thick  of  the  fray  at  the  time,  directed 
Daviess  to  be  patient,  that  he  would  give  him  opportunity 
enough  to  distinguish  himself  before  the  battle  was  over. 
Patience,  however,  was  not  one  of  Daviess'  qualities.  He 
sent  a  second  time,  and  received  the  same  answer,  and 
finally  a  third  time,  whereupon  Harrison  replied,  "  Tell 
Major  Daviess  he  has  had  my  opinion  twice.  He  may 
now  use  his  own  discretion." 

Daviess  instantly  gave  the  order  to  charge.  Instead 
of  going  out  in  line  abreast  he  led  his  force  through  his 
own  lines  in  single  file,  and  made  a  rush  for  the  woods. 
According  to  some  accounts  he  was  on  horseback,  at  any 
rate  he  was  conspicuous  from  a  white  blanket  coat  which 
he  wore.  He  was  shot  through  the  body  before  he  had 
gone  ten  paces,  and  his  men  retreated  carrying  him  with 
them.  The  Indians  attempted  a  countercharge,  but  the 
dragoons  rallied  and  the  attack  was  easily  beaten  off. 

The  plateau  was  now  encircled  with  fire.  The  troops 
standing  near  the  edge  were  plainly  visible  to  the  Indians 
by  the  light  cast  by  the  remains  of  the  huge  fires  back  of 
them,  while  the  savages  could  not  be  seen  by  the  Ameri- 
cans, who  could  only  fire  at  the  flashes  in  the  darkness. 
Every  assailable  point  was  hotly  attacked  again  and  again. 

Harrison  rode  up  and  down  the  lines  freely  exposing 
himself,  his  clothing  torn  by  bullets,  heartening  and 
cheering  the  men,  throwing  a  little  reserve  now  here,  now 
there,  to  re-enforce  a  weak  spot,  doing  everything  that  a 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          261 

brave  and  efficient  officer  could  do  to  insure  success.  The 
steadiness  of  the  militia  was  marvellous.  They  stood  in 
the  darkness  after  a  time  and  fought  like  heroes,  for  the 
fires  were  extinguished  by  Harrison's  orders  as  soon  as 
the  exigency  permitted.  Men  fell  on  every  side,  yet  there 
was  no  thought  of  retreat  or  giving  back. 

After  the  failure  to  break  the  line  on  the  left  flank,  the 
attack  was  concentrated  on  the  narrow  side  of  the  right 
flank.  Colonel  Bartholomew  was  wounded,  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Decker  was  next  struck  down,  Captain  Warrick, 
acting  major,  was  then  shot  through  the  body.  He  was 
taken  to  the  fire,  his  wound  dressed,  and  as  he  was  able  to 
move,  though  his  injuries  were  mortal,  he  went  back  to 
the  line  and  fought  with  his  men  until  he  died. 

Spencer's  "  Yellow  Jackets  "  bore  the  brunt  of  the  fight 
at  the  point.  The  Indians  were  in  front  and  on  both 
sides  of  these  brave  men.  Captain  Spencer  was  shot  in 
the  head  and  severely  wounded,  but  refused  to  leave  his 
post,  and  continued  to  encourage  his  men.  A  few  mo- 
ments after  he  received  his  first  wound  he  was  shot 
through  the  thighs  and  fell  to  the  ground.  Still  he  would 
not  permit  himself  to  be  carried  to  the  rear,  but  was  being 
lifted  up  to  cheer  his  soldiers,  when  he  was  shot  in  the 
heart  and  fell  dead  where  he  had  fought. 

All  the  field  officers  of  the  Indiana  militia  at  this  point 
were  killed  or  wounded,  and  most  of  the  company  officers 
also.  There  is  a  story  told  that  Harrison,  ridmg  furiously 
up  to  the  imperilled  point,  found  the  troops  under  the 
command  of  a  mere  boy,  whose  face  was  begrimed  with 
powder  and  stained  with  blood  from  a  wound  in  his  fore- 
head. 

"  Young  man,"  said  the  general  in  great  anxiety,  not 
recognizing  him  in  such  a  case,  "  where  is  your  colonel  ?  " 


262       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

"  Dead,  sir,"  was  the  answer. 

"  Your  major?  " 

"  Dead,  sir." 

"  Your  captain?" 

"  Dead,  sir." 

"  Who  commands  the  regiment?  " 

"  I  do,  sir.     Ensign  Tipton,  Fourth  Indiana,  sir." 

The  story  may  well  be  true;  it  is  certain  that  the  boy 
went  into  the  campaign  a  private,  and  that  night  of  bat- 
tle made  him  the  captain  of  his  company. 

Harrison  had  one  company  still  in  reserve,  Robb's  Ken- 
tucky riflemen.  He  at^once  led  them  to  the  support  of 
the  right  flank.  They  numbered  thirty-five  men,  and  sev- 
enteen of  them  were  killed  or  wounded  before  the  day 
broke.  The  men  behaved  with  the  greatest  gallantry. 
Many  of  them  had  never  been  in  action  before,  yet  they 
coolly  stood  to  their  guns,  and  when  it  came  to  hand-to- 
hand  fighting  they  displayed  high  courage. 

Captain  Geiger  of  the  Kentuckians  narrowly  escaped 
death  at  the  knife  of  an  Indian  who  had  broken  into  the 
camp,  whom  he  killed  with  his  own  hands.  The  flint  of 
a  soldier's  piece  slipped  out  of  place.  The  man  deliber- 
ately walked  over  to  the  remains  of  the  fire  in  spite  of  ex- 
postulation, sat  down  by  it  and  remained  until  he  had 
fixed  his  musket,  although  the  bullets  fell  around  him  like 
hail.  Other  men  sprang  upon  the  Indians  crawling  tow- 
ard the  line  and  killed  them  with  knife  or  hatchet,  or 
were  killed  themselves  in  the  struggle. 

Two  hours  the  battle  raged,  but  as  day  broke  the  regu- 
lars and  Kentuckians  on  the  left  flank  led  by  Major  Wells 
moved  out  and  by  a  spirited  bayonet  charge  drove  the 
savages  in  headlong  rout,  which  extended  all  along  the 
line.  At  six  o'clock  the  fierce  little  battle  was  over. 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          263 

Harrison's  loss  in  killed  and  wounded  is  usually  given 
as  one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  men,  but  the  returns 
upon  which  this  statement  is  made  apparently  do  not  in- 
clude some  of  the  casualties  among  the  officers,  so  that  I 
am  of  the  opinion  that  there  were  nearly  two  hundred 
casualties  out  of  the  one  thousand  engaged,  or  about 
twenty  per  cent.,  a  fearful  proportion  indeed.  Daviess 
died  of  his  wounds  during  the  day  and  with  the  other  dead 
was  interred  upon  the  field. 

Harrison  sent  a  detachment  to  burn  the  Prophet's 
town,  which  was  found  deserted,  and  to  lay  waste  the  sur- 
rounding country.  Then  destroying  his  private  baggage 
and  putting  the  wounded  in  the  baggage-wagons,  he  re- 
traced his  steps  to  Fort  Harrison.  The  sufferings  of  the 
wounded  upon  this  rough  wagon  journey  were  indescrib- 
able. 

The  casualties  among  the  Indians  have  never  been 
learned  with  accuracy,  but  it  is  likely  that  they  were  at 
least  as  great  as  those  sustained  by  the  Americans.  .  The 
Indians,  who  were  from  a  number  of  tribes,  were  led  by 
three  chiefs  named  White  Loon,  Stone  Eater,  and  Win- 
nemac.  The  Prophet,  who  had,  after  the  manner  of  his 
kind,  promised  immunity  from  the  American  bullets  to 
his  followers,  had  witnessed  the  battle  from  a  situation 
back  of  the  creek;  also,  after  the  manner  of  his  kind,  tak- 
ing care  to  be  well  out  of  range.  When  he  was  re- 
proached by  the  surviving  Indians  for  having  misled 
them  with  pretended  immunities,  he  stated  that  his  wife 
had  touched  the  pot  in  which  he  had  brewed  his  incanta- 
tions that  night,  and  the  charm  had  been  broken  by  her 
profane  hand!  A  child  of  Adam  he,  indeed.  He  was 
not  believed,  of  course,  but  there  was  nothing  to  be  done 
then. 


264        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Alas  for  the  Indians,  more  than  the  charm  was  broken 
on  this  occasion,  for  the  whole  confederacy,  at  least  so  far 
as  the  northwest  was  concerned,  went  to  pieces  in  the  face 
of  the  crushing  defeat.  The  many  warriors  from  so  many 
different  tribes  carried  the  news  everywhere,  the  Prophet 
was  discredited,  and  Tecumseh  in  his  absence  was  desert- 
ed by  all  but  his  own  tribe.  The  Creek  war  with  its  awful 
massacres  and  bloody  battles  ensued  in  the  south,  but  the 
spirit  of  the  northern  Indians  was  broken. 

When  Tecumseh  returned  and  found  his  careful  plans, 
his  far-seeing  statesmanship  frustrated  by  the  signal  abil- 
ity with  which  Harrison  had  taken  advantage  of  his  ab- 
sence and  the  folly  of  the  Prophet,  he  was  heartbroken, 
too.  The  war  of  1812  opening  soon  after,  he  naturally 
cast  his  lot  with  the  British,  bringing  many  of  the  north- 
west Indians  with  him.  Appreciating  his  influence  and 
ability  they  made  him  a  major-general,  and  he  rendered 
brilliant  and  effective  service  against  the  Americans  in  all 
the  campaigns  of  the  war. 

Proctor,  the  English  commander,  was  greatly  inferior 
to  the  Indian  both  in  military  talents  and  in  personal  char- 
acter, and  anything  that  was  accomplished  by  the  allies 
was  due  to  the  genius  of  the  savage  rather  than  to  the  ef- 
forts of  the  Briton.  He  and  Harrison  faced  each  other 
many  times  in  many  hard-fought  battles  until  the  end 
came  on  the  5th  of  October,  1813,  near  the  Moravian 
Town  on  the  River  Thames  in  the  Province  of  Ontario, 
Canada. 

IV.     The  Battle  of  the  Thames 

After  the  stupendous  victory  of  Perry  on  Lake  Erie 
the  British,  utterly  disheartened,  abandoned  their  posi- 
tions and  fled  precipitately  to  the  northwest,  closely  pur- 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          265 

sued  by  Harrison  and  Governor  Shelby  of  Kentucky,  one 
of  the  heroes  of  King's  Mountain,  thirty-three  years  be- 
fore, in  command  of  a  fine  force  of  three  thousand  regu- 
lars and  Indiana  and  Kentucky  troops,  of  whom  the  aged 
Shelby  was  not  the  least  ardent — "  Old  King's  Moun- 
tain "  they  called  him  from  his  share  in  the  famous  victory. 
They  greatly  outnumbered  the  allies,  who  comprised  some 
seven  hundred  regulars  and  about  one  thousand  two  hun- 
dred Indians  under  the  command  of  Tecumseh. 

Bitterly  protesting  against  flight  and  earnestly  pleading 
with  the  British  commander  to  give  battle,  Tecumseh  at 
last  induced  him  to  await  the  American  attack  at  a  place 
peculiarly  well  adapted  for  defence.  With  the  left  flank 
protected  by  the  river  Thames,  here  high  banked  and  un- 
fordable,  and  his  right  flank  resting  upon  an  almost  im- 
passable swamp,  Proctor  finally  resolved  to  make  a  stand. 
Between  the  river  and  the  large  swamp  a  smaller  swamp, 
or  marsh,  divided  the  allies  into  two  parts.  The  ground 
was  thickly  wooded  with  huge  trees  with  but  little  under- 
growth. Proctor  with  the  British  regulars  took  the  left 
of  the  line,  Tecumseh  with  his  Indians  the  right. 

Harrison,  coming  upon  them  late  in  the  afternoon,  de- 
termined to  assault  them  in  regular  fashion  by  advancing 
his  infantry  under  cover  of  skirmishers,  and  after  the  battle 
had  been  joined  throwing  in  his  cavalry,  of  which  he  had 
a  very  fine  regiment  of  Kentuckians,  commanded  by  Col- 
onel Richard  Mentor  Johnson.  But  upon  learning  that 
the  British  troops,  through  some  unaccountable  blunder, 
were  drawn  up  in  open  order,  Harrison  changed  his  plan 
and  began  the  battle  by  launching  a  furious  cavalry  charge 
upon  both  sides  of  the  small  swamp.  At  the  same  time  he 
deployed  a  portion  of  his  army  to  the  left  to  attack  the  Ind- 
ians, who  had  extended  on  his  flank  in  the  large  swamp. 


266       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Old  General  Shelby  had  charge  of  this  portion  of  the  ad- 
vance. The  cavalry,  upon  the  word,  charged  with  the  ut- 
most gallantry  on  both  sides  of  the  small  swamp.  Colo- 
nel Johnson  led  the  attack  on  the  Indians,  and  his  brother 
and  Lieutenant-Colonel  on  the  British.  The  Johnsons 
were  a  family  of  fighters,  for  two  sons  of  the  lieutenant- 
colonel,  one  only  a  boy,  accompanied  him  in  the  charge. 

After  two  volleys  and  some  irregular  firing,  the  British, 
overridden  by  the  impetuous  horsemen,  who  were  closely 
followed  by  the  infantry,  threw  down  their  arms  and  sur- 
rendered, Proctor  fleeing  like  the  coward  he  was  from  the 
field  which  he  had  failed  to  defend.  He  was  afterward 
court-martialed  and  severely  censured  for  his  lack  of  con- 
duct. On  the  Indian  side  of  the  swamp,  however,  the 
battle  was  more  fiercely  contested.  All  the  loss  the  Amer- 
ican army  sustained  practically  occurred  here.  The  en- 
gagement was  general  for  perhaps  ten  minutes,  when  Te- 
cumseh  was  shot  and  the  Indians  at  last  gave  way  in  all 
directions  before  the  steady  advance  of  the  American  sol- 
diers. The  American  loss  was  about  fifteen  killed  and 
thirty  wounded;  the  British  loss,  about  eighteen  killed, 
twenty-six  wounded,  and  six  hundred  prisoners.  Thirty- 
three  dead  Indians  were  left  on  the  field,  many  were 
wounded  but  escaped,  and  their  total  loss  was  probably 
heavy. 

Who  shot  Tecumseh  is  one  of  the  unsolved  and  un- 
solvable  mysteries  of  history.  Colonel  Johnson,  who 
was  wounded  no  less  than  five  times  in  the  fight,  did 
shoot  with  a  pistol  a  prominent  Indian  who  had  already 
wounded  him  and  was  making  toward  him  to  finish  him. 
It  was  alleged  that  this  Indian  was  Tecumseh.  Johnson, 
who  was  afterward  Vice-President  of  the  United  States, 
never  made  the  claim  himself  that  it  was,  although  his 


Tecumseh  and  Harrison          267 

political  partisans  did  so  for  him.  Volumes  have  been 
written  to  discover  the  fact,  but  it  remains  as  far  from 
solution  as  ever.  Of  one  thing  is  there  assurance,  and 
that  is,  that  the  great  chief  fell  in  this  battle,  which  was 
after  all  scarcely  more  than  a  skirmish.  There  are  grew- 
some  stories  about  his  skin  being  flayed  from  his  body 
for  razor-strops,  but  they  are  not  well  authenticated. 
Indeed,  the  identification  of  his  body  after  the  battle  is 
by  no  means  complete.  That  he  died  there,  however, 
appears  to  be  certain. 

A  petty  ending  to  all  his  great  ideas,  his  brilliant  plan- 
ning, his  splendid  courage,  his  noble  dream  of  a  Red 
Men's  Republic !  He  was  beyond  his  time,  and  beyond 
his  people.  So  his  life  was  wasted.  Let  it  be  said  of  him 
that  he  was  a  merciful  Indian  in  accordance  with  his 
lights,  that  he  permitted  no  burning  of  prisoners  nor 
other  torturing,  that  the  massacre  of  the  Raisin  River 
was  not  due  to  him,  and  that  he  observed  in  large  meas- 
ure what  are  called  the  rules  of  civilized  warfare. 

It  is  significant,  too,  that  before  this  last  battle  of  which 
the  baffled,  disappointed  man  saw  the  inevitable  end,  he 
had  communicated  to  his  friends  his  resolve  never  to  leave 
the  field  alive,  and  he  had  stripped  off  his  British  uniform 
and  gone  into  the  action  attired  in  the  savage  simplicity 
of  his  ancient  forefathers. 

Harrison,  with  Perry,  who  had  been  present  at  the  bat- 
tle, and  General  Shelby  and  Colonel  Johnson  were  the 
heroes  of  the  hour.  The  national  significance  in  our  early 
development  of  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  to  which  the 
victory  of  the  Thames  called  renewed  attention,  has  been 
pointed  out.  It  had  an  interesting  personal  significance 
to  the  American  commander  as  well,  for  it  undoubtedly 
v  called  the  public  attention  to  Harrison  in  such  a  way  that, 


268       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

when  it  was  coupled  with  his  brilliant  campaigning  in  the 
subsequent  war,  it  finally  made  him  the  foremost  man  of 
the  Republic  and  at  last  the  President  of  the  United 
States.  Men  yet  live  who  remember  the  stirring  slogan 
of  his  political  campaign,  which  joined  his  name  with  that 
of  his  running  mate  in  these  words :  "  Old  Tippecanoe 
and  Tyler  too." 

As  the  industrious  and  indefatigable  Lossing  says  of 
the  battle : 

"  History,  art,  and  song  made  that  event  the  theme  of 
pen,  pencil,  and  voice;  and  when,  thirty  years  afterward, 
the  leader  of  the  fray  was  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency 
of  the  United  States,  he  was  everywhere  known  by  the 
familiar  title  of '  Old  Tippecanoe.'  His  partisans  erected 
log  cabins  in  towns  and  cities,  and  in  them  sang  in 
chorus : 

'Hurrah  for  the  father  of  all  the  great  west, 

For  the  Buckeye  who  followed  the  plow; 
The  foeman  in  terror  his  valor  confessed, 

And  we'll  honor  the  conqueror  now. 
His  country  assailed  in  the  darkest  of  days, 

To  her  rescue  impatient  he  flew, 
The  war  whoop's  fell  blast,  and  the  rifle's  red  blaze, 

But  awakened  Old  Tippecanoe.'  " 

And  Tecumseh's  name  reappears  in  history  in  the  mon- 
itor which  was  sunk  in  Mobile  Bay  by  the  Confederate 
torpedoes  off  Fort  Morgan,  and  in  the  cognomen  of  that 
great  modern  warrior,  William  Tecumseh  Sherman. 


PART  V 
THE    NORTHWEST   TERRITORY 

III 

The  Massacre  on  the  River  Raisin 


THE    MASSACRE    ON    THE    RIVER 
RAISIN 

"  Woe,  and  woe,  and  lamentation! 
What  a  piteous  cry  was  there! 
Widows,  maidens,  mothers,  children, 
Shrieking,  sobbing  in  despair. 

"  Woe  to  us,  ah,  woe  Kentucky! 

O,  our  sons,  our  sons  and  men! 
Surely  some  have  'scaped  the  Indian, 
Surely  some  will  come  again! 

"  Till  the  oak  that  fell  last  winter 

Shall  uprear  its  shattered  stem — 
Wives  and  mothers  of  Kentucky — 
Ye  may  look  in  vain  for  them!" 

— Adapted  from  Aytoun. 

I.     The  Army  of  the  West 

IN  the  early  part  of  1813  tidings  of  an  appalling  dis- 
aster to  our  arms  came  blowing  down  the  winter 
wind  from  the  far  northwest.  Although  there  were 
no  telegraph  lines,  nor  railroads,  nor  other  means  of 
quickly  diffusing  intelligence,  rumors  of  a  bloody  battle 
fought  and  lost,  and  succeeded  by  a  ruthless  massacre, 
spread  with  incredible  swiftness  in  ever-widening  circles 
of  apprehension  and  alarm.  The  news  carried  dismay  and 
desolation  and  anguish  to  the  people  of  Kentucky.  Win- 
chester's detachment  had  been  cut  off,  it  was  reported, 
and  every  man  of  them  slain.  Later  and  authentic  in- 
formation mitigated  the  first  impression  of  the  calamity, 

271 


$72       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

but  the  tidings  were  bad  enough  at  best  and  they  needed 
no  exaggeration  to  send  a  wave  of  grief  and  rage 
throughout  Kentucky  primarily  and  the  United  States 
generally. 

It  is  difficult  to  overestimate  the  important  part  played 
by  Kentucky  in  the  War  of  1812.  Because  she  was 
a  trans-Allegheny  state  and  most  of  the  campaigns  in 
which  her  soldiers  took  part  occurred  in  the  northwest- 
ern territories,  their  achievements,  except  in  the  case  of 
William  Henry  Harrison,  have  been  somewhat  lost  sight 
of.  Yet  the  best  blood  of  the  new  state  responded  with 
spontaneous  enthusiasm  to  the  demands  of  the  govern- 
ment; and  not  only  in  the  regular  army  of  the  United 
States  but  in  the  regiments  of  volunteers  with  which  our 
greater  wars  have  usually  been  fought,  her  citizens  dis- 
played an  alacrity  and  self-sacrifice  which  set  the  pace 
and  established  the  mark  for  older  communities. 

The  best  men  in  the  state  did  not  disdain  to  fill  the  sta- 
tions of  subalterns,  and  numbers  of  them  were  even  found 
in  the  ranks.  Many  of  these  volunteers  were  killed  or 
wounded,  and  the  regiments  of  which  they  made  up  the 
principal  quota  participated  in  some  of  the  hardest  of  the 
little  fights  with  which  the  war  abounded. 

After  the  pusillanimous  surrender  of  Hull  at  Detroit,  a 
vigorous  effort  was  inaugurated  to  recover  the  lost  city 
and  drive  the  British  from  the  peninsula  of  Michigan. 
After  various  hesitations  the  supreme  command  of  the 
force  designed  for  the  recapture  and  invasion  of  Canada 
was  conferred  upon  Harrison,  who  was  appointed  a  ma- 
jor-general in  the  regular  army.  His  force  was  assem- 
bled in  three  small  divisions,  the  left  being  under  the  com- 
mand of  Brigadier-General  James  Winchester. 

Winchester  was  a  veteran  of  the  Revolution.     He  had 


Massacre  on  the  River  Raisin     273 

been  a  lieutenant  in  the  Virginia  Continental  line  at 
the  age  of  twenty-four.  It  was  his  misfortune  to  be 
captured  early  in  the  Revolutionary  War  and  to  spend 
over  four  years  as  a  prisoner.  Most  of  the  fighting 
was  over  when  he  was  released,  and  as  he  had  enjoyed  no 
opportunity  for  distinguishing  himself,  consequently  he 
had  not  risen  above  a  subordinate  rank.  He  was  at  this 
time  over  sixty  years  old;  a  brave,  upright,  estimable  gen- 
tleman, with  no  other  qualifications  whatever  for  military 
command. 

Under  him  was  a  force  of  some  twelve  hundred  men,  in- 
cluding the  Seventeenth  U.  S.  Regular  Infantry,  under 
Colonel  Wells,  who  had  fought  brilliantly  at  Tippecanoe, 
the  First,  Second,  and  Fifth  Kentucky  Volunteers,  the 
First  Kentucky  Riflemen,  and  some  other  troops.  The 
soldiers,  who  had  been  enlisted  in  August,  were  provided 
only  with  clothing  for  summer  campaigning,  and  as  the 
winter  approached,  they  suffered  terrible  hardships.  The 
winter  was  one  of  unusual  severity. 

Harrison  appealed  personally  to  the  women  of  Ken- 
tucky, and  with  patriotic  zeal  they  labored  to  provide 
blankets,  overcoats  and  other  clothing  for  their  men  in 
the  field,  but  these  supplies  had  not  yet  reached  Winches- 
ter's detachment.  Harrison  intended  to  concentrate  his 
men  at  the  Rapids  of  the  Maumee,  preparatory  to 
marching  on  the  British  head-quarters  at  Maiden,  now 
Amherstburg,  Ontario,  Canada;  and  thither  he  directed 
Winchester  to  repair  early  in  January,  to  fortify  the  place 
and  to  establish  a  depot  to  which  would  be  sent  the 
sorely  needed  supplies. 

The  Kentucky  troops  were  not  well  affected  toward 
Winchester  at  first.  He  had  been  sent  out  by  the  Na- 
tional Government  to  supersede  Harrison  in  the  chief 


274       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

command,  and  a  bitter  feeling  had  been  engendered  there- 
by. Harrison  had  found  it  necessary  to  appeal  to  the  pa- 
triotism of  the  troops;  but  Winchester  himself,  by  kindli- 
ness of  heart,  shown  in  the  lax  discipline  he  maintained, 
had  changed  the  state  of  affairs,  so  that  he  had  become 
personally  popular  with  the  men,  although  their  efficiency 
had  not  been  promoted  by  his  actions. 

They  were,  however,  in  good  spirits  at  last  in  spite  of 
hardships  and  exposures,  and  were  become  so  zealous 
that  when  they  were  ordered  to  march  to  the  Maumee 
Rapids,  finding  their  horses  and  mules,  as  ill  provided  as 
their  masters,  unequal  to  the  labor,  the  men  dragged  the 
cannon  and  supplies  over  the  frozen  country,  gladly  tak- 
ing hold  of  the  traces  and  pulling  the  wagons  and  guns 
with  their  own  hands. 

Everything  connected  with  the  army  was  in  a  chaotic 
state.  There  were  few,  if  any,  trained  soldiers  among 
the  officials.  The  war  had  not  yet  developed  those  whose 
talents  enabled  them  to  supplement  their  lack  of  expe- 
rience, and  things  went  on  very  slowly  indeed;  as  they  al- 
ways do,  even  in  the  best  of  times — as  they  did  in  the 
Spanish-American  War,  for  instance. 

II.     A  Hazardous  Expedition 

While  they  were  waiting  in  the  cold  for  the  bringing 
up  of  the  supplies,  the  arrival  of  re-enforcements,  and  the 
approach  of  the  other  detachments  of  the  army,  which 
Harrison  was  vainly  endeavoring  to  hasten,  an  appeal  for 
help  was  brought  to  Winchester  from  a  little  village  called 
Frenchtown,  situated  on  the  River  Raisin,  a  few  miles 
above  the  place  where  it  empties  into  Lake  Erie  and 
where  is  now  the  city  of  Monroe,  Michigan. 


Massacre  on  the  River  Raisin    275 

The  settlement  was  a  small  one,  of  some  thirty  families 
and  as  many  houses.  It  was  French  in  its  origin  and 
dated  back  in  the  previous  century.  The  first  settlers  had 
named  the  stream  upon  which  they  had  established  them- 
selves the  Riviere  aux  Raisins,  on  account  of  the  preva- 
lence of  wild  grapes  which  they  found  there. 

The  settlement  was  menaced  by  a  body  of  Canadians 
and  Indians  under  the  command  of  Major  Reynolds,  who 
had  been  despatched  to  seize  it  as  a  convenient  outpost  for 
watching  the  Americans,  by  Colonel  Proctor,  the  British 
commander  in  the  northwest.  Messengers  were  sent  to 
Winchester's  camp  asking  him  to  send  a  detachment  to 
drive  away  the  enemy  and  protect  the  citizens  from  the 
Indians. 

Moved  by  feelings  of  humanity,  he  committed  a  most 
serious  military  blunder.  Feelings  of  humanity  seem  to 
find  little  place  in  military  manoeuvres,  unfortunately. 
Frenchtown  was  within  eighteen  miles  of  Maiden,  in 
which  lay  a  force  of  five  thousand  British  and  Indians.  It 
was  about  thirty  miles  from  the  camp  on  the  Maumee. 
Winchester  divided  his  small  force  into  two  parties,  and 
on  the  1 7th  of  January,  1814,  he  sent  the  first  moiety, 
some  six  hundred  and  fifty  men,  under  Colonel  Lewis, 
to  dispossess  the  British  and  Indians  from  Frenchtown. 
He  immediately  re-enforced  him  with  a  small  detach- 
ment under  Colonel  Allen,  which  overtook  the  advance 
before  the  battle  the  next  day. 

Winchester's  soldiers,  whose  terms  of  service  were 
shortly  to  expire,  were  clamorous  for  movement.  They 
did  not  wish  to  go  home  without  having  struck  one 
blow  at  least,  and  through  their  officers  they  had  strenu- 
ously urged  upon  the  feeble  general  the  despatch  of  the 
expedition.  It  does  not  appear  that  Winchester  made 


276       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

any  great  resistance  to  their  demand,  or  that  he  ever 
realized  his  blunder. 

The  weather  was  bitter  cold,  but  the  ill-clad  troops,  re- 
joicing in  the  prospect  of  righting,  set  forth  sturdily  upon 
their  hazardous  undertaking.  They  marched  rapidly,  and 
after  a  day  and  a  night  approached  Frenchtown.  They 
crossed  the  River  Raisin  upon  the  ice,  formed  up  in  the 
woods,  seized  the  town,  and  drove  out  the  advance  guard 
of  the  allies,  whom  they  found  drawn  up  in  a  convenient 
situation  ready  to  receive  them. 

There  was  a  spirited  little  engagement  in  the  afternoon 
of  the  i8th,  in  which  the  British  supported  by  a  howitzer 
held  their  own  for  a  time  and  inflicted  a  loss  of  some 
twelve  killed,  including  one  officer,  and  fifty-five  wound- 
ed, including  three  officers,  but  they  were  finally  driven 
from  successive  positions  by  the  Americans.  They  re- 
treated in  good  order,  and  maintained  an  unbroken  front 
until  evening  put  an  end  to  the  battle,  which  was  cer- 
tainly a  victory  for  the  Americans,  since  they  remained  in 
possession  of  the  town  and  battle-field. 

Colonel  Lewis,  whose  conduct  had  been  characterized 
by  courage  and  skill,  withdrew  to  the  town  and  went  into 
camp.  His  wounded  were  gladly  cared  for  in  the  houses 
of  the  French  people  and  his  men  established  themselves 
in  a  good  defensive  position,  enjoying  through  the  hospi- 
tality of  the  villagers  the  first  good  warm  meal  they  had 
eaten  for  a  long  time.  A  messenger  was  at  once  sent 
back  to  Winchester  telling  of  their  success,  and  then  they 
remained  quietly  in  camp  within  striking  distance  of  the 
whole  British  army  to  wait  their  general's  pleasure. 

The  houses  of  the  village  were  mostly  surrounded  by 
gardens,  the  greater  part  enclosed  by  "  puncheon  "  fences, 
which  were  in  effect  small  stockades  of  heavy  timber,  or 


Massacre  on  the  River  Raisin    277 

split  logs,  between  four  and  five  feet  high  and  admirably 
adapted  for  defensive  warfare.  Lewis  seems  to  have 
knocked  out  some  of  the  intercepting  fences  so  as  to 
make  a  clear  stockade  around  the  southern  part  of  the 
town,  in  which  he  posted  his  troops. 

The  messenger  with  the  news  of  the  success  of  the  de- 
tachment raised  the  greatest  enthusiasm  in  Winchester's 
camp.  His  men  clamored  to  be  led  forward  to  the  new 
position.  Although  there  was  no  strategic  importance 
to  be  attached  to  the  possession  of  Frenchtown,  and  to 
hold  it  removed  the  division  from  its  base  of  supplies  and 
disorganized  the  plan  of  the  commander-in-chief,  it 
seemed  on  the  face  of  it  a  bold,  threatening,  forward 
movement,  and  as  such  appealed  to  the  unthinking. 

It  was,  in  fact,  so  rash  a  movement  that  it  amounted 
to  foolhardiness.  If  one  can  forget  that  Proctor  was  a 
coward  and  an  ass,  it  might  be  likened  to  thrusting  one's 
head  into  a  lion's  mouth.  At  any  rate,  Winchester  de- 
termined to  establish  his  camp  on  the  Raisin.  Leaving 
some  three  hundred  men  at  Maumee  with  instructions  to 
guard  the  stores  until  they  could  be  sent  for,  and  also  to 
receive  other  stores,  and  despatching  a  messenger  to  Har- 
rison with  the  first  news  of  the  little  victory  and  the  pro- 
jected movement,  Winchester,  accompanied  by  Colonel 
Wells  and  the  Seventeenth  regulars,  marched  to  French- 
town.  When  they  got  there  on  the  2Oth  a  petty  little 
question  of  precedence  which  arose  necessitated  an  ar- 
rangement which  brought  about  the  ultimate  disaster  of 
all  of  them. 

Wells,  as  a  colonel  in  the  regular  service,  was  senior  in 
rank  to  Lewis  and  was  thus  entitled  to  what  is  known  as 
the  right  of  the  line.  On  the  left  of  the  stockade  occu- 
pied by  Lewis  there  was  another  garden  enclosure  which 


278       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

would  have  afforded' excellent  cover  for  Wells,  but  in  a 
spirit  of  military  punctilio  he  chose  to  maintain  his  right 


ITI 

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Map  of  Frenchtown  and  the  Massacre  on  the  Raisin. 

to  the  right  of  the  line,  and  accordingly  encamped  his 
men  in  the  open  on  the  right  of  Lewis,  with  no  pro- 


Massacre  on  the  River  Raisin     279 

tection  whatever.  His  detached  force  was  therefore  a 
weakness  rather  than  a  strength  to  the  army. 

Winchester  seems  to  have  made  no  objection  to  the 
foolish  arrangement.  Indeed,  it  was  only  intended  to  be 
temporary,  for  the  next  day,  the  2ist,  the  officers  pitched 
upon  a  suitable  location  for  a  fort  large  enough  for  the 
whole  army,  which  they  arranged  to  commence  on  the 
22nd.  Winchester  established  his  head-quarters  at  the 
house  of  a  man  named  Navarre,  some  three-quarters  of  a 
mile  from  the  camp  and  south  of  the  Raisin,  a  stream 
seventy  yards  wide  and  now  frozen  solid  between  its  low 
banks. 

There  they  lay,  therefore,  some  nine  hundred  and  fifty 
officers  and  men,  without  artillery,  without  provisions, 
with  only  a  scanty  supply  of  ammunition,  ill-clothed,  with 
no  adequate  commissariat,  utterly  unsupported  and  with- 
in easy  striking  distance  of  six  times  their  number  of  the 
enemy.  To  add  to  their  misfortunes  the  foolish  question 
of  precedence  had  so  disposed  them  that  over  one-third 
of  the  force  was  in  an  untenable  position.  Wars  have 
been  waged  and  great  peoples  ruined  over  questions  of 
precedence  more  than  once. 

Proctor,  who  in  this  one  solitary  instance  seems  to  have 
exhibited  some  little  capacity,  at  once  moved  down  to  at- 
tack them  with  six  pieces  of  artillery  and  a  force  estimated 
at  twelve  hundred  British  and  Indians,  of  whom  three 
hundred  were  regulars  of  the  Forty-first  and  the  Royal 
Newfoundland  Regiments,  two  hundred  of  the  remainder 
being  Canadian  volunteers  embodied  in  regiments,  and 
the  balance  Wyandotte  Indians  led  by  a  celebrated  chief 
known  as  Round  Head.  Proctor  supposed  that  he  was 
to  meet  Lewis'  detachment  only,  or  he  would  have  taken 
a  larger  force.  He  was  ignorant  of  Winchester's  arrival 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

with  a  re-enforcement.  However,  as  the  event  showed, 
he  had  more  than  enough  for  the  purpose. 

In  the  American  camp  there  seems  to  have  been  a  neg- 
lect of  the  most  rudimentary  duties  of  a  soldier.  No 
scouts  were  ordered,  no  pickets  placed,  and  even  the  sen- 
tries were  not  extended  as  they  should  have  been.  A 
large  supply  of  ammunition  was  left  undistributed  at  Win- 
chester's head-quarters,  although  some  of  the  troops  had 
only  ten  rounds  with  them. 

Colonel  Wells  and  Colonel  Lewis  finally  began  to  fear 
that  their  position  would  invite  attack  and  made  represen- 
tations to  General  Winchester  snugly  ensconced  in  the 
Navarre  house  across  the  river.  He  pooh-poohed  their 
fears  and  made  light  of  their  suggestions,  until  finally  the 
news  was  brought  by  one  of  the  French  inhabitants  that 
a  large  force  of  British  and  Indians  had  left  Maiden  and 
were  approaching  Frenchtown.  This  was  contradicted 
vehemently  by  another  Frenchman,  who  bore  the  historic 
name  of  La  Salle,  who  it  was  afterwards  learned  was  in 
the  pay  of  the  British.  Winchester  was  reassured  by  La 
Salle's  protestations  and  accordingly  did  nothing. 

III.     The  Battle  of  Frenchtown 

The  night  of  January  2ist  was  intensely  cold,  the 
ground  was  covered  with  snow,  the  wind  blew  fiercely. 
The  poorly  clad  sentries  almost  perished  during  their 
long  vigils,  and  they  naturally  kept  an  indifferent  watch. 
Some  of  the  approaches  to  the  town  were  left  entirely 
unpicketed.  No  scouting  parties  were  sent  out.  The 
American  army  lay  huddled  around  its  fires,  or  crowded 
the  huts  and  houses  of  the  village  seeking  shelter  from 
the  freezing  cold  of  the  bitter  winter.  The  whole  army 


Massacre  on   the  River  Raisin    281 

passed  the  night  in  confident  security,  and  Proctor  with 
his  well-clad  troops  and  Indians  was  enabled  to  approach 
near  the  camp  without  discovery. 

Between  four  and  five  o'clock,  probably  nearer  five, 
while  it  was  yet  dark,  the  drummer-boys  began  beating 
the  reveille.  The  echoes  of  the  drums  had  scarce  died 
away  under  the  black  sky  when  three  rifle  shots  from  the 
nearest  sentries,  instantly  followed  by  the  report  of  a  can- 
non and  the  bursting  of  a  bombshell,  crashed  through  the 
morning  air.  The  discharge  was  succeeded  by  the  rat- 
tling of  musketry  mingled  with  the  cheers  of  the  British 
and  the  yells  of  the  Indians. 

The  startled  Americans  sprang  to  their  arms  in  the  gray 
misty  morning,  and  in  their  bewilderment  opened  a  fire 
upon  the  flashes  of  light  which  told  of  the  presence  of  the 
enemy.  If  Proctor  had  realized  the  situation  he  could 
have  rushed  the  camp  and  surprised  the  Americans  al- 
most in  their  sleep.  He  chose,  however,  to  bombard  the 
pickets  with  his  artillery,  and  the  first  gun,  with  a  few  ran- 
dom shots  from  the  American  pickets  upon  him  as  he 
marched  forward  in  the  snowstorm  and  darkness,  fol- 
lowed by  the  general  discharge,  apprised  the  Americans 
of  the  advent  of  the  enemy. 

Fortunately  the  darkness  prevented  much  damage 
from  being  done  on  either  side  by  the  firing,  and  it  was 
not  until  daybreak  that  the  battle  became  serious.  Mean- 
while Proctor  extended  his  line,  placed  two  of  his  guns  to 
the  eastward  of  Lewis'  division,  and  massed  a  large  force 
of  Indians  on  the  exposed  flank  of  Wells'  command. 

Winchester  had  arisen  when  he  had  heard  the  sound  of 
firing  in  the  winter  morning,  hastily  dressed  and  galloped 
to  the  front  with  his  staff.  There  was  no  want  of  courage 
in  the  old  man.  He  at  once  took  position  on  the  right 


282       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

flank  of  Wells'  troops.  As  it  grew  lighter  he  discovered 
the  mass  of  Indians  menacing  this  right,  the  discovery 
being  emphasized  by  the  severe  fire  which  the  Indians 
poured  upon  the  regulars  from  the  cover  of  the  trees  with 
which  the  country  abounded.  Then  for  the  first  time  he 
seems  to  have  realized  the  untenable  position  of  the  men, 
and  he  ordered  them  to  withdraw  into  the  stockade,  or, 
as  it  is  sometimes  alleged,  to  retire  and  reform  behind  the 
houses  back  of  Wells'  position. 

The  greater  portion  of  these  troops  had  never  been  in 
action  before.  As  a  rule  it  is  only  seasoned  veterans  who 
can  safely  be  withdrawn  from  a  position  in  the  heat  of  a 
fierce  action.  The  little  prairie  upon  which  the  town 
stands  was  now  ringing  with  musketry.  The  Americans 
were  fighting  coolly,  although  they  were  suffering  great 
loss.  It  was  evident,  however,  that  the  position  of  Wells' 
regiment  was  hopeless.  Winchester  had  to  order  the 
retrograde  movement  or  see  the  flank  cut  to  pieces  where 
it  stood. 

The  regiment  started  back  in  good  order,  but  the  Ind- 
ians, mistaking  the  manoeuvre  for  a  retreat,  contrary  to 
their  practice  broke  from  cover  and  rushed  upon  the 
Americans.  They  were  two  to  one  at  the  point  of  con- 
tact, the  march  became  a  run,  the  run  engendered  a  panic, 
and  in  a  wild,  disorganized  mass  the  soldiers  streamed 
past  the  stockade,  through  the  town  and  made  for  the 
frozen  river. 

Colonel  Lewis  in  the  stockade,  seeing  the  disaster,  de- 
spatched Colonel  Allen's  regiment  to  charge  the  advanc- 
ing Indians  and  give  the  regulars  time  to  recover.  He 
himself  gallantly  left  the  stockade  and  joined  Winchester, 
Wells,  Major  McLanahan,  and  other  officers  in  an  heroic 
effort  to  stay  the  wild  rout,  but  all  in  vain.  Allen's  men, 


Massacre  on  the  River  Raisin    283 

who  charged  the  Indians  bravely,  were  shattered  by  a 
heavy  fire,  the  Indians  made  a  countercharge  in  the 
smoke,  the  Americans  were  swept  away  and  at  once  fol- 
lowed the  others  in  retreat,  the  savages  close  on  their 
heels. 

Round  Head  had  handled  his  savages  with  great  skill 
and  he  was  now  reaping  the  reward  of  his  generalship. 
The  fleeing  men  were  shot  down,  tomahawked,  and 
scalped  in  scores.  Of  the  whole  lot,  only  thirty-three  es- 
caped. The  remainder  were  overtaken  and  surrounded 
south  of  the  Raisin  and  butchered  without  mercy.  One 
young  officer  surrendered  himself,  and  twenty  men  and 
the  whole  number,  saving  himself,  were  immediately  shot, 
or  tomahawked,  and  scalped.  Colonel  Wells  and  Major 
McLanahan  were  killed  and  most  of  the  other  officers  as 
well. 

Colonel  Allen,  desperately  wounded,  backed  up  against 
a  tree  for  support.  His  offer  to  surrender  was  at  first  ac- 
cepted, but  two  Indians  made  for  him  with  hostile  intent. 
Allen,  perceiving  their  design,  determined  to  sell  his  life 
dearly.  He  cut  the  first  man  down  and  killed  him  with 
one  terrific  blow  of  the  sword.  The  second  man  shot  him 
dead.  He  was  one  of  the  finest  gentlemen  of  Kentucky. 

General  Winchester  and  Colonel  Wells  were  taken 
alive.  The  Indians  stripped  the  poor  old  general  and  his 
surviving  officers  of  their  uniforms,  so  that  they  nearly 
perished  with  cold,  and  then  marched  them  to  Proctor's 
head-quarters.  The  right  wing  of  the  American  army 
had  not  only  been  routed  but  annihilated.  The  battle,  so 
far  as  they  were  concerned,  had  ceased  when  they  began 
to  retreat.  The  field  was  turned  into  a  shambles.  The 
Indians  in  this  part  of  the  affair  suffered  but  little  loss. 

Meanwhile  Proctor  had  been  furiously  assailing  the 


284        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

stockade.  Three  times  he  had  launched  his  regulars  and 
Canadians  in  force  upon  it.  Although  dismayed  and  ap- 
palled by  the  repulse  of  the  right  wing,  the  Americans  un- 
der Major  Madison,  a  veteran  of  the  Revolution,  in 
which  he  had  fought  under  George  Rogers  Clark,  at  the 
age  of  twelve,  and  of  the  Indian  Wars  under  St.  Clair  and 
Wayne,  put  up  a  fierce  defence,  Major  Graves,  the  senior 
officer,  having  been  severely  wounded  early  in  the  action. 
Three  times  they  repulsed  the  British,  killing  and  wound- 
ing over  half  the  regulars  present.  So  accurate  was  their 
rifle  fire  that  sixteen  men  were  killed  or  wounded,  in 
quick  succession,  around  the  nearest  six-pounder  of  the 
English,  and  the  service  of  the  gun  was  abandoned. 

The  Indians,  flushed  with  their  victory,  now  joined  the 
beleaguering  force  and  poured  in  a  tremendous  fire  upon 
the  stockade,  which  was  spiritedly  returned,  and  a  heavy 
loss  was  here  inflicted  upon  the  savages. 

Proctor  finally  withdrew  his  cannon  and  had  about 
made  up  his  mind  to  abandon  the  siege  when  he  resolved 
to  try  a  stratagem.  The  frozen,  exhausted,  old  American 
general  was  brought  to  him.  Winchester  had  just  wit- 
nessed the  annihilation  of  nearly  half  his  force.  Proctor 
assumed  a  threatening  manner  and  declared  that  the 
stockade  was  practically  in  the  power  of  the  British,  and 
unless  it  were  immediately  given  up  he  would  abandon  it 
to  the  Indians,  with  the  result  that  all  the  Americans 
would  be  massacred.  The  British  commander  said  that 
if  the  matter  came  to  a  storm  he  would  be  unable  to  con- 
trol the  Indians.  If,  however,,  Winchester  would  order 
his  men  to  surrender,  Proctor  pledged  his  sacred  honor 
that  he  would  give  the  prisoners  protection  from  the  Ind- 
ians, treat  them  as  prisoners  of  war,  and  allow  the  officers 
to  retain  their  side  arms  and  private  property. 


Proctor     .      .      .      had  a  fiery  interview  with 
the  American  commander." 


Massacre  on   the  River  Raisin    285 

Winchester,  a  kind-hearted  old  man,  whose  nerves  had 
been  greatly  shaken  by  the  awful  slaughter  he  had  wit- 
nessed, for  the  supposed  sake  of  his  men  wrote  an  order 
directing  Major  Madison  to  surrender.  Winchester,  be- 
ing a  captive,  had  no  right  to  give  an  order  of  any  kind, 
and  no  obedience  would  have  been  required  from  any  man 
to  such  an  order. 

So  successful  had  been  the  defence  of  the  stockade  that 
when  Madison's  men  saw  the  flag  of  truce  coming  they 
imagined  that  it  might  be  a  request  for  a  parley  to  permit 
the  British  to  secure  their  dead  and  wounded  and  march 
away,  or  perhaps  even  surrender.  Though  how  they 
could  have  thought  that  troops  in  the  open,  capable  of  re- 
treating, would  surrender  to  troops  in  a  stockade  is  diffi- 
cult to  understand.  Madison's  men  knew  that  the  right 
wing  had  been  repulsed,  but  were  ignorant  that  it  had 
been  annihilated,  and  when  they  received  the  order,  and 
the  news  as  well,  they  were  appalled. 

Through  some  error  Winchester's  order  for  surrender 
did  not  specify  anything  about  protection  or  other  condi- 
tions. Proctor,  who  had  come  himself  with  the  flag  of 
truce,  had  a  fiery  interview  with  the  American  commander, 
who  refused  absolutely  to  surrender  until  promised  safety 
for  his  men  from  Indian  attacks.  This  Proctor  assured 
him  in  the  most  solemn  manner;  thereupon  Madison 
yielded  his  position. 

He  probably  would  not  have  done  so,  but  his  ammuni- 
tion was  all  but  exhausted.  Had  Proctor  made  another 
attack  this  fact  would  have  been  developed  and  the  Amer- 
icans would  have  been  at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy.  As 
soon  as  the  surrender  was  announced  the  Indians,  frenzied 
by  the  excitement  of  battle  and  the  number  of  slain,  im- 
mediately rushed  upon  the  Americans  tomahawk  and 


286       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

scalping  knife  in  hand.  Fortunately  the  troops  still  re- 
tained their  arms  and  they  turned  upon  the  savages  with 
muskets,  bayonets,  and  bowie  knives,  and  taught  them  a 
salutary  lesson.  Proctor  had  manifested  little  desire,  and 
had  made  no  attempt  to  restrain  the  Indians,  but  they 
were  so  savagely  handled  that  they  fled,  leaving  these 
Americans  severely  alone. 

There  had  been  about  six  hours  of  fighting,  during 
which  the  Americans  had  lost  about  three  hundred  and 
fifty  killed.  There  were  some  seventy-five  severely 
wounded  in  addition  and  about  five  hundred  were  made 
prisoners.  Proctor,  in  deadly  anxiety  lest  Harrison 
should  approach  him  with  his  army,  immediately  put  his 
force  in  array  to  march  back  to  the  main  body  at  Maiden. 
The  American  wounded  were  left  at  Frenchtown  under 
the  care  of  two  of  their  surgeons  who  had  survived  the 
slaughter  of  the  battle,  in  charge  of  a  British  major  and 
three  interpreters  with  no  force  to  protect  them.  Proc- 
tor promised  to  send  sledges  to  fetch  them  the  next  day. 

IV.     The  Murder  of  the  Wounded 

The  Indians  marched  away  with  Proctor,  but  it  was 
learned  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  that  they  halted 
six  miles  from  Frenchtown  by  Proctor's  permission  for 
"  a  jollification  " — a  war  or  scalp  dance,  or  some  such 
hellish  revel.  The  night  of  the  22nd  was  passed  in  terri- 
fied apprehension  by  the  poor  wounded  men  for  whom 
the  surgeons  were  doing  the  best  they  could.  On  the 
morning  of  the  23rd  some  two  hundred  of  the  savages  re- 
turned to  Frenchtown.  They  were  already  excited  by 
the  liquor  they  had  imbibed  and  they  procured  an  addi- 
tional supply  by  breaking  into  some  of  the  houses.  The 
wounded  prisoners  were  dragged  forth.  Those  who 


Massacre  on  the  River  Raisin    287 

were  unable  to  walk  were  stripped,  shot,  tomahawked, 
and  scalped.  Some  of  them  were  left  in  houses  which 
were  set  on  fire  and  then  burned  to  death. 

The  lives  of  about  thirty  who  could  manage  to  drag 
themselves  along  were  spared,  and  they  were  driven  in 
the  frightful  cold  toward  the  head-quarters  at  Maiden. 
All  who  could  manage  to  stagger  tried  to  make  the  jour- 
ney; they  hobbled  along  till  their  strength  gave  out  and 
were  butchered  where  they  fell.  Many  of  the  prisoners 
were  not  given  up  to  the  British,  but  were  retained  in 
bondage  by  the  Indians. 

This  was  the  way  Proctor  kept  his  promise.  These  two 
hundred  Indians  comprised  the  escort  he  had  ordered  to 
bring  up  to  Maiden  the  wounded  prisoners  who  had 
trusted  to  his  honor.  An  old  report  from  a  Canadian  pa- 
per, in  my  possession,  has  the  following  comment :  "  All 
day  throughout  the  Indians  behaved  nobly,  and  the  instant 
the  enemy  surrendered,  their  forbearance,  as  in  former 
actions,  was  strikingly  conspicuous."  Wasn't  it? 

The  fate  of  Captain  Hart,  the  brother-in-law  of  Hen- 
ry Clay,  was  particularly  harrowing.  Although  badly 
wounded  he  had  begged  of  Captain  Elliott  that  he  might 
be  taken  with  the  other  prisoners  on  the  22nd,  and  the 
men  of  his  company  offered  to  carry  him.  But  Elliott 
pledged  his  honor  that  Hart  would  be  safe  and  that  his 
own  private  sleigh  should  be  sent  for  him  the  next  morn- 
ing. This  Elliott  had  been  a  whilom  personal  friend  of 
Hart's  and  a  man  who  was  indebted  to  Hart's  family  for 
many  kindnesses  before  the  war.  He  had  charge  of  the 
Indian  allies  and  is  reputed  to  have  said  significantly  to 
some  of  the  wounded  who  asked  for  attendants  and  assist- 
ance, "that  he  would  leave  them  to  the  Indians,  who  were 
all  good  doctors  !  " 


288        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Elliott,  of  course,  broke  his  promise;  his  honor  was  no 
stronger  than  Proctor's,  and  Hart  was  ruthlessly  killed 
with  the  rest  the  next  morning.  His  last  words  were  a 
prayer  to  God  for  strength  to  meet  his  fate. 

The  British  loss  was  twenty-four  killed  and  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight  wounded,  most  of  the  casualties  be- 
ing from  the  regular  regiments.  The  Indian  loss  was 
probably  under  fifty.  The  American  loss  was  between 
three  hundred  and  ninety  and  four  hundred  killed,  be- 
sides the  few  wounded  whose  lives  were  spared'.  Thirty- 
three  got  away  and  about  five  hundred  and  forty  were 
captured. 

Yes,  there  was  sorrow  and  grief  in  the  tidings  to  the 
people  of  Kentucky.  But  they  were  inflamed  to  furious 
wrath  by  the  story  of  the  killing  by  the  Indians  of  the  men 
who  had  surrendered  and  of  the  ruthless  butchery  of  the 
helpless  wounded  permitted  by  Proctor.  This  affair  was 
known  colloquially  as  "  The  Massacre  of  the  Raisin,"  and 
the  war-cry  of  the  Americans,  which  was  heard  on  many 
fields  and  most  fiercely  at  the  Battle  of  the  Thames,  where 
Proctor  fled  like  a  coward  and  Tecumseh  died  like  a  hero, 
was,  "  Remember  the  Raisin."  It  is  reported  that  some 
of  the  Kentucky  borderers  flayed  the  bodies  of  the  Ind- 
ians, cutting  their  skins  into  long  razor  strops  after  the 
Battle  of  the  Thames  to  "  Remember  the  Raisin." 

One  of  the  most  damning  indictments  that  has  ever 
been  drawn  against  any  civilized  nation  is  that  against 
Great  Britain  for  employing  the  Indians  as  allies  in  this 
war  against  the  Americans,  although  in  justice  to  one 
Indian  it  may  be  said,  that  if  Tecumseh  had  been  with 
Proctor  on  this  occasion  it  is  probable  that  the  massacre 
might  not  have  occurred. 


IV 

George  Croghan  and  the  Defence  of  Fort 
Stephenson 


GEORGE  CROGHAN  AND  THE  DE- 
FENCE OF  FORT  STEPHENSON 

I.     A  Boy  in  Command  of  Other  Boys 

THIS  is  a  story  of  a  mere  boy  and  a  lot  of  other 
boys,  on  the  frontier;  an  account  of  their  heroic 
but  forgotten  exploit.     It  is  barely  mentioned  in 
the  larger  histories,  and  its  value  is  scarcely  undepstood. 
Important  or  not,  it  introduces  us  to  specimens  of  young 
American  manhood  of  which  we  may  well  be  proud. 

Strange  to  say,  few  people  at  present  have  any  but  the 
vaguest  idea  as  to  who  George  Croghan  was,  and  fewer 
still  have  ever  heard  of  the  fight  at  Fort  Stephenson ;  yet 
the  names  of  both  soldier  and  battle  were  once  on  every- 
body's lips,  and  they  deserve  a  high  and  honorable  place 
in  the  long  and  brilliant  galaxy  of  American  fights  and 
fighters. 

Prior  to  the  War  of  the  Rebellion,  by  specific  acts  of 
Congress,  from  time  to  time,  some  forty-two  of  our  sol- 
diers and  sailors  were  awarded  medals  for  heroic  exploits 
or  successful  battles.  Eleven  went  to  Revolutionary  he- 
roes, the  French  and  Tripolitan  Wars  were  credited  with 
one  each,  the  War  of  1812  with  twenty-seven,  and  two 
.commanders  were  so  distinguished  in  the  Mexican  War. 
The  total  number  of  medals  for  all  causes  distributed  by 
act  of  Congress  prior  to  1861  was  eighty- four. 

The  War  of  1812  brought  forth  so  large  a  number  be- 

291 


292        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

cause  every  captain  who  took  a  ship  in  the  marvellous  sea 
fights  of  the  period,  received  a  medal.  Also,  in  several 
of  these  ship  and  squadron  engagements  medals  were 
awarded  to  subordinate  officers  for  distinguished  con- 
duct. Therefore,  it  would  be  fair  to  say  that  possibly  not 
more  than  twenty-five  separate  actions  in  eighty-five 
years  of  thrilling  history  in  which  six  wars  were  fought 
have  been  commemorated  by  the  United  States  in  this 
signal  way.  To  digress;  but  two  medals  were  awarded 
in  the  Rebellion  (to  Grant  and  Commodore  Vanderbilt) 
and  but  one  since  (to  Dewey).  Now  the  general  medal 
of  honor  has  taken  the  place  of  the  old-fashioned  Con- 
gressional award. 

One  of  the  1812  medals  was  awarded  to  George  Cro- 
ghan  for  his  heroic  defence  of  Fort  Stephenson,  and  this 
little  prelude  shows  the  importance  of  it  in  our  history.  I 
believe  Croghan  was  the  youngest  man  to  be  so  signally 
honored. 

Croghan  was  a  Kentuckian.  The  family  was  one  of 
prominence  in  early  American  history.  His  mother  was 
a  sister  of  the  famous  George  Rogers  Clark,  and  it  was  in 
her  house  near  Louisville,  where  Croghan  was  born  No- 
vember 15,  1791,  that  the  old  Revolutionary  hero  died. 
Croghan's  father  had  been  a  Revolutionary  soldier,  a  ma- 
jor, who  had  fought  with  credit  during  that  struggle. 
His  parents  were  fairly  well-to-do,  and  he  received  the 
best  education  then  obtainable,  at  William  and  Mary 
College,  Virginia,  where  he  graduated  in  1810,  at  the 
age  of  eighteen — a  bright  youth  indeed! 

When  General  William  Henry  Harrison  started  on  his 
Indiana  campaign  to  break  up  the  conspiracy  of  Tecum- 
seh,  in  1811,  young  Croghan,  whose  predilections  were 
entirely  military,  accompanied  the  expedition  as  a  volun- 


The  Defence  of  Fort  Stephenson  293 

teer  aid  to  Colonel  Boyd,  who  commanded  the  United 
States  troops  on  this  occasion.  He  distinguished  himself 
at  the  famous  night  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  received  a 
coveted  appointment  in  the  army,  and  the  War  of  1812 
found  him  a  captain  in  the  Seventeenth  Regiment  of 
United  States  Infantry.  He  participated  in  all  of  Har- 
rison's early  campaigns  and  he  again  distinguished  him- 
self in  a  sortie  at  the  famous  siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  where 
he  did  valiant  service  as  Harrison's  aide-de-camp.  He 
was  mentioned  in  the  despatches  and  rewarded  by  being 
promoted  major  of  the  Seventeenth  Infantry. 

After  the  abandonment  of  the  siege  by  the  British  he 
was  sent  with  a  battalion  of  his  regiment,  comprising  with 
the  officers  one  hundred  and  sixty  men,  to  garrison 
Fort  Stephenson.  These  officers,  all  youths,  most  of 
them  junior  in  years  to  their  boyish  commander,  have 
earned  a  place  in  history,  and  their  names  are  here  set 
down:  Captain  James  Hunter,  Lieutenants  Benjamin 
Johnston  and  Cyrus  A.  Baylor,  Ensigns  John  Meek,  Jo- 
seph Duncan,  and  Edmund  Shipp;  all  of  the  Seventeenth 
Regulars  except  Meek,  who  belonged  to  the  Ninth. 
With  them  went  Lieutenant  Anderson,  who,  having  no 
command,  served  valiantly  as  a  volunteer  in  the  ranks. 

Fort  Stephenson  was  a  ramshackle  old  stockade,  built 
around  a  former  Indian  trader's  house  at  the  head  of  nav- 
igation on  the  Sandusky  River,  about  twenty  miles  from 
the  Lake  Erie  shore,  in  what  is  now  Sandusky  County, 
Ohio.  The  place  was  sometimes  called  Lower  Sandusky, 
and  the  battle  is  frequently  referred  to  as  the  defence  of 
Lower  Sandusky.  The  stockade,  which  was  not  in  par- 
ticularly good  repair,  was  made  of  piles  sixteen  feet  high, 
and  surrounding  them  was  a  dry  ditch  about  eight  or  nine 
feet  wide,  and  five  or  six  feet  deep.  The  fort,  enclosing 


294       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

about  an  acre  of  ground,  was  laid  out  in  the  form  of  a  par- 
allelogram, with  a  blockhouse  at  the  northeast  corner  and 
a  guardhouse  at  the  southeast.  To  supplement  these 
Croghan  had  erected  another  blockhouse  midway  on  the 


Map  of  Fort  Stephenson. 

north  wall,  from  which  he  could  enfilade  the  ditch.  He 
also  strengthened  the  palisade,  and  put  it  in  as  good  a 
state  of  repair  as  possible. 

The  place  had  not  been  designed  as  a  fort.     Originally 
it  had  only  been  intended  as  a  defence  against  Indians. 


The  Defence  of  Fort  Stephenson   295 

It  was  situated  on  low  ground  near  the  river,  commanded 
by  surrounding  hills,  and  was  untenable  in  the  face  of  ar- 
tillery. It  was  a  depot  of  supplies  of  some  importance, 
although  the  great  depot  for  Ohio  was  at  Upper  San- 
dusky,  some  twenty  miles  up  the  river.  There  was  also  a 
third  depot  and  much  valuable  government  material  at 
Erie,  where  Perry  had  been  busily  engaged  in  building 
and  outfitting  his  famous  squadron.  Fort  Stephenson, 
therefore,  was  an  outpost  which  stood  between  the  two 
great  depots  in  which  were  stored  the  provisions  and  mu- 
nitions of  war  for  all  the  American  armies  in  the  north- 
west. It  was  at  the  apex  of  a  triangle,  the  base  line  of 
which  connected  Erie  and  Upper  Sandusky.  Its  fall 
would  leave  a  way  open  to  attack  one  or  the  other  of 
these  vitally  important  places  without  much  difficulty. 
Harrison  with  a  very  inconsiderable  force  was  posted  at 
Seneca  Falls,  about  ten  miles  away  from  Fort  Stephen- 
son. 

In  the  latter  part  of  July,  1813,  General  Proctor,  with 
a  large  force  numbering  at  least  three  thousand  Indians 
under  Tecumseh,  and  six  hundred  British  regulars, 
crossed  the  Lake  from  Maiden  and  appeared  before  Fort 
Meigs  on  the  Maumee.  Finding  that  he  could  not 
tempt  the  small  garrison  to  a  sortie  by  a  clever  ruse  in- 
vented by  Tecumseh,  he  determined  to  leave  the  fort  for 
the  present,  and  re-embarking  his  regular  soldiers  in  gun- 
boats and  directing  the  Indians  to  follow  them  along  the 
shore,  he  made  a  swift  dash  at  Fort  Stephenson.  He  ex- 
pected to  capture  it  without  difficulty,  fall  on  General 
Harrison's  little  force  at  Seneca  Falls,  and  after  defeating 
it  have  the  government  storehouse  and  in  fact  the  whole 
of  Ohio  at  his  mercy.  Harrison,  of  course,  divined  his 
plan,  and  the  people  of  the  northwest  who  could  rernem- 


296       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

her  the  bloody  massacre  at  the  Raisin  River,  well  knew 
what  to  expect  from  the  mercy  of  Proctor  and  his  braves. 
It  was  Croghan  who  frustrated  this  brilliant  scheme. 

II.     The  Impudence  of  the  Young  Captain 

A  few  days  before  the  arrival  of  the  British,  Harrison 
had  examined  the  place  and  pronounced  it  untenable 
against  the  artillery  and  regulars,  as  indeed  by  right  it 
was.  He  thereupon  directed  Croghan,  if  the  British  ap- 
proached, to  abandon  it  and  retreat.  If  the  Indians  came 
alone,  as  they  had  no  artillery,  the  place  might  be  de- 
fended. Harrison's  scouts  apprised  the  American  gen- 
eral of  the  withdrawal  of  the  allies  from  Fort  Meigs,  and 
their  advance  upon  Fort  Stephenson.  Although  the 
abandonment  would  leave  either  great  depot  open  to  at- 
tack, he  determined  upon  it,  hoping  that  he  could  assem- 
ble a  force  to  relieve  Erie,  or  to  defend  Upper  Sandusky, 
as  Proctor  chose  one  or  the  other  plan.  On  the  night 
of  the  2pth  of  July,  therefore,  Harrison  sent  word  to 
Croghan  to  destroy  the  place  at  once  and  retreat  to 
Seneca  Falls.  The  messengers  lost  their  way,  had  to 
flee  for  their  lives  from  the  Indians,  and  did  not  reach 
Croghan  until  late  in  the  morning  of  the  3Oth  of  July. 
The  doughty  American  called  his  boy  officers  together 
in  a  council  of  war  and  rinding  them  in  high  spirits  and 
willing  to  stand  by  him,  immediately  despatched  the  fol- 
lowing remarkable  note  to  Harrison: 

"  Sir : — I  have  just  received  yours  of  yesterday,  ten 
o'clock  P.  M.,  ordering  me  to  destroy  this  place  and  make 
good  my  retreat,  which  was  received  too  late  to  be  car- 
ried into  execution.  We  have  determined  to  maintain  this 
place,  and  by  heavens,  we  can" 


It  was  a  plucky  but  very  impudent  document  from  a 
youthful  major  to  a  veteran  major-general!  Harrison 
was  a  trained  soldier  and  he  could  not  brook  for  a  moment 
having  his  orders  disobeyed  in  this  manner.  He  sent  a 
squadron  of  cavalry  with  an  officer  to  supersede  Croghan 
and  ordered  him  to  report  at  head-quarters  at  once.  The 
cavalry  fought  its  way  down  the  river  through  hostile  Ind- 
ians, of  whom  they  managed  to  kill  nearly  a  score,  by  the 
way,  and  delivered  the  message.  Croghan  turned  the  fort 
over  to  Colonel  Wells,  and  repaired  at  once  to  head-quar- 
ters. He  explained  that  the  general's  orders  had  been 
delayed  in  reaching  him  and  the  woods  were  now  filled 
with  Indians.  He  did  not  think  it  prudent  under  the  cir- 
cumstances to  retreat  with  so  large  a  body  of  infantry,  and 
he  had  worded  his  reply  in  the  bluff  way  in  which  he  did 
in  the  hope  and  expectation 'that  it  would  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  enemy.  He  expressed  himself  as  confident 
of  his  ability  to  hold  the  post,  or  at  least  make  the  British 
pay  a  staggering  price  for  it,  and  begged  to  be  reinstated 
in  his  command  and  to  be  given  permission  to  try  it. 
Harrison,  who  was  very  fond  of  the  young  fellow,  gen- 
erously accepted  his  explanation,  and  allowed  him  to 
resume  his  command. 

Croghan  immediately  returned  to  the  fort,  relieved 
Wells,  and  made  vigorous  preparation  for  its  defence 
against  the  expected  attack,  which  was  not  long  delayed. 
On  the  first  of  August,  about  noon,  the  Indians  were  per- 
ceived in  large  numbers  surrounding  the  fort.  Tradition 
has  it  that  one  of  them  climbed  a  tall  tree  overlooking  the 
enclosure,  but  before  he  could  make  any  report  of  what 
he  saw  he  was  shot  dead  by  the  unerring  rifles  of  the 
Kentuckians.  Others  who  made  the  attempt  fared  in 
the  same  way,  and  the  Indians  at  last  concluded  that  it 


298       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

would  not  be  safe  to  reconnoitre  in  that  manner.  They 
gathered  in  some  force  on  the  edge  of  the  clearing  finally, 
but  a  discharge  from  a  six-pound  gun,*  Croghan's  soli- 
tary piece  of  artillery,  easily  dispersed  them. 

About  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  the  British  boats 
appeared  at  a  bend  in  the  river  and  opened  fire  upon  the 
fort  from  the  boat  guns.  The  British  troops  were  disem- 
barked about  a  mile  below  the  fort,  and  a  five  and  a  half 
inch  howitzer  was  landed  and  began  a  cannonade,  a  fire 
the  garrison  received  for  the  most  part  in  silence,  although 
the  six-pounder  which  was  mounted  in  the  northeast 
blockhouse  was  dragged  from  port-hole  to  port-hole  to 
give  the  impression  of  force,  and  fired  occasionally.  The 
number  of  the  besiegers  was  about  twelve  hundred,  of 
whom  seven  hundred  were  Indians.  Tecumseh,  with 
two  thousand  savages,  was  placed  some  miles  back  to 
menace  the  troops  in  Fort  Meigs  and  the  camp  at  Seneca 
Falls,  if  either  moved  to  relieve  Fort  Stephenson,  and  he 
took  no  part  in  the  battle.  The  odds  were  heavy  enough 
as  it  was;  twelve  hundred  with  ample  artillery,  against  one 
hundred  and  sixty  and  one  gun,  led  by  youths ! 

As  soon  as  the  British  landed,  Colonel  Elliott  and  Ma- 
jor Chambers,  accompanied  by  Captain  Dixen  of  the 
Royal  Engineers,  commanding  the  Indian  auxiliaries, 
were  sent  forward  with  a  white  flag  by  General  Proctor  to 
demand  the  surrender  of  the  fort. 

Ensign  Edmund  Shipp,  the  youngest  officer  in  the  post, 
and  he  must  have  been  a  mere  boy  indeed,  was  sent  out  to 
discover  the  purport  of  the  flag;  whereupon,  after  the 

*  The  soldiers  called  this  cannon  "  Good  Bess,"  for  what  reason  it  is  hard 
to  say.  Why  is  it  that  so  many  guns,  rifles,  cannon,  etc. ,  famous  in  his- 
tory have  been  called  "Bess  "or  "  Betsy  "  ?  What's  in  that  name  to  make 
it  appropriate,  I  wonder  ? 


The  Defence  of  Fort  Stephenson   299 

usual  salutations,  an  interesting  conversation  took  place. 
Colonel  Elliott  demanded  the  "  instant  surrender  of  the 
fort,  to  spare  the  effusion  of  blood,  which  we  cannot  do, 
should  we  be  under  the  necessity  of  reducing  it  by  our 
powerful  force  of  regulars,  Indians,  and  artillery." 

"My  commandant  and  the  garrison,"  replied  the  gallant 
young  Shipp,  "  are  determined  to  defend  the  post  to  the 
last  extremity  and  bury  themselves  in  its  ruins,  rather 
than  surrender  it  to  any  force  whatever." 

"  Look  at  the  immense  body  of  Indians,"  urged  Dixen, 
"  they  cannot  be  restrained  from  massacring  the  whole 
garrison  in  the  event  of  our  undoubted  success." 

"  Our  success  is  certain,"  added  Chambers  promptly. 

"  Sir,"  said  Elliott,  "  you  appear  to  be  a  fine  young 
man.  I  pity  your  situation.  For  God's  sake  urge  the 
surrender  of  the  fort  and  prevent  the  slaughter  which 
must  follow  resistance  should  you  fall  into  the  hands  of 
the  savages." 

"  It  is  a  pity,"  continued  Dixen  beseechingly,  "  that  so 
fine  a  young  man  as  your  commander  is  represented  to  be, 
should  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  savages.  Sir,  for  God's 
sake  surrender  and  prevent  the  dreadful  massacre  that 
will  be  caused  by  your  resistance." 

"  When  the  fort  shall  be  taken,"  replied  Shipp  daunt- 
lessly,  entirely  unaffected  by  these  terrifying  appeals, 
which  only  disclosed  the  incapacity  of  the  British  to  con- 
trol their  red  allies,  "  there  will  be  none  to  massacre.  It 
will  not  be  given  up  while  a  man  is  able  to  resist." 

Pretending  to  be  fearful  for  Shipp's  safety,  Colonel  El- 
liott thereupon  urged  him  to  go  back  to  the  fort  at  once. 
As  the  boy  officer  turned  away,  an  Indian  sprang  from  the 
bushes  and  endeavored  to  wrest  his  sword  from  him  and 
cut  him  down.  It  was  with  great  difficulty,  which  is  be- 


300       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

lieved  to  have  been  a  pretence,  that  Dixen  dragged  away 
the  savage  and  besought  Shipp  to  return  with  all  speed 
to  save  his  life,  as  he  could  not  control  the  Indians !  The 
bluff  did  not  work  at  all.  The  young  subaltern  did  not 
scare  a  little  bit.  Croghan  was  standing  on  the  rampart, 
watching  the  scene,  and  when  he  perceived  the  insult  to 
his  envoy  he  shouted: 

"  Come  in,  Shipp,  and  we'll  blow  'em  all  to  hell!  " 
Language  which  it  is  presumed  he  did  not  learn  at 
William  and  Mary  College,  but  which  was  singularly  ap- 
propriate at  the  time!  It  was  a  bold  defiance  indeed 
from  the  one  hundred  and  sixty  to  the  twelve  hundred. 
There  was  a  massacre  sure  enough,  too,  as  it  turned  out, 
but  the  Americans  were  not  the  victims. 


III.     Desperate  Fighting 

The  bombardment  began  at  once,  and  continued  with 
more  or  less  vigor  all  the  night,  during  which  the  British 
landed  five  six-pounders,  parking  three  of  them  in  a  bat- 
tery on  a  hill  covered  by  trees,  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  from  the  stockade,  and  disposing  of  the  others 
to  advantage.  In  the  morning  they  opened  a  furious  fire 
to  which  the  Americans  made  little  or  no  reply.  During 
the  night,  with  immense  labor,  Captain  Hunter,  the  sec- 
ond in  command,  had  succeeded  in  transporting  the  six- 
pound  gun  to  the  blockhouse  on  the  north  wall.  Antici- 
pating an  assault  upon  the  northwest  corner  of  the  fort 
upon  which  the  fire  of  the  British  had  been  concentrated 
during  most  of  the  day,  the  gun  had  been  so  placed  as  to 
rake  the  ditch.  It  was  loaded  with  a  half  charge  of  pow- 
der, on  account  of  the  short  range,  and  a  double  charge 


"  The  young  subaltern  did  not  scare  a  little  bit." 


The  Defence  of  Fort  Stephenson  301 

of  slugs  and  bullets.  The  port-hole  was  masked  and  the 
gun  remained  hidden. 

During  the  day  whenever  an  Indian  or  a  soldier  showed 
himself  outside  of  cover  the  Kentuckians  took  quick  and 
generally  successful  shots  at  him,  but  otherwise  the  gar- 
rison made  little  response  to  the  continuous  cannonading, 
husbanding  their  powder,  of  which  their  supply  was  small. 
They  were  very  busy,  however,  carrying  sacks  of  flour 
and  bags  of  sand  from  the  storehouse  to  support  the 
northwest  corner  of  the  stockade,  which  was  being 
breached  and  demolished  under  the  heavy  battering  it  was 
receiving  from  the  British  guns.  Croghan,  of  course, 
had  taken  his  position  on  the  northwest  corner. 

Everyone  was  on  the  alert,  however,  when  about  five 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  a  storming  party  of  some  three 
hundred  soldiers  of  the  Forty-first  Regiment  rushed  for 
the  northwest  corner,  while  at  the  same  time  two  hundred 
grenadiers  made  a  detour  through  the  woods  and  ad- 
vanced to  attack  the  south  wall.  Under  cover  of  a  fierce 
fire  from  the  batteries  and  from  every  tree  or  hill  on  the 
high  ground,  which  surrounded  the  fort,  which  would 
serve  to  conceal  an  Indian,  the  attack  was  delivered.  The 
sky  was  black  with  storm  clouds  at  the  time,  and  peals  of 
thunder  in  heavy  detonations  mingled  with  the  roaring 
of  the  cannon  and  the  rattle  of  the  musketry. 

The  place  was  covered  with  smoke  which  concealed 
the  main  advance  until  the  English  were  within  twenty 
feet  of  the  fort.  The  first  warning  the  startled  Ameri- 
cans had  was  the  sight  of  the  grim  faces  of  the  red-coats 
shoving  through  the  smoke.  A  deadly  rifle  fire  which 
flashed  from  every  port-hole  checked  them  and  threw 
them  into  confusion. 

The  hesitation  of  the  British,  however,  was  but  mo- 


302       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

mentary.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Short,  their  leader,  sprang 
to  the  head  of  the  column.  Waving  his  sword  in  the  air, 
he  so  inspirited  them  that  they  once  more  advanced. 
They  came  on  with  fixed  bayonets  without  firing,  in  spite 
of  a  rapid  and  continuous  discharge  from  the  fort.  Al- 
though many  fell,  they  did  not  hesitate  even  when  they 
reached  the  edge  of  the  ditch,  crying,  "  Come  on,  men ! 
We'll  give  the  damned  Yankees  no  quarter !  "  Short, 
followed  by  Major  Muir,  and  Lieutenant  Gordon  of  the 
Forty-first,  and  the  redoubtable  Dixen,  leaped  into  the 
ditch,  and  tried  to  scramble  up  the  other  side  of  it. 

The  Americans  could  not  depress  their  rifles  sufficient- 
ly to  reach  the  men  in  the  ditch,  unless  they  exposed 
themselves  above  the  stockade,  which  would  be  to  invite 
destruction  from  the  fire  of  the  Indians.  Short  and  his 
men,  who  had  followed  him  most  gallantly,  concluded 
that  when  they  gained  the  ditch  they  were  safe  for  the 
time.  Alas,  they  knew  nothing  of  the  masked  six-pound- 
er, for  at  this  instant,  the  port  was  thrown  open  and  the 
cannon,  effectively  served  by  some  Pittsburg  volunteers, 
hurled  its  deadly  charge  of  bullets  and  slugs  at  short  range 
into  the  British  huddled  together  in  the  ditch.  No  less 
than  fifty  men  were  killed,  or  so  seriously  wounded  by 
that  awful  discharge  that  they  could  not  escape  from  the 
death  trap,  and  numbers  of  others  were  slightly  injured. 
Colonel  Short  received  a  mortal  wound  and  with  his  last 
effort  raised  his  handkerchief  upon  the  point  of  his  sword, 
pleading  for  mercy,  although  but  a  moment  since  he  had 
threatened  to  give  no  quarter.  Gordon  was  instantly 
killed;  Muir,  Dixen,  and  other  officers  were  wounded,  but 
managed  to  escape. 

Appalled  by  such  an  awful  slaughter  and  met  by  a  con- 
tinuous withering  fire  from  the  American  rifles  and  mus- 


The  Defence  of  Fort  Stephenson  3°3 

kets,  the  Englishmen  who  had  not  yet  entered  the  ditch 
hesitated  for  a  moment  and,  being  without  a  leader,  turned 
and  fled,  pursued  by  effective  discharges  from  the  six- 
pounder  and  dropping  on  their  retreat  in  scores.  On  the 
south  wall,  where  Hunter  commanded,  the  attacking 
party  under  Colonel  Warburton  had  fared  scarcely  any 
better.  On  both  sides  of  the  fort  a  long  swath  of  dead 
or  wounded  grenadiers,  writhing  upon  the  ground  in 
agony,  showed  the  ebb  and  flow  of  the  disastrous  attack. 

The  retreating  British  soon  gained  the  safe  shelter  of 
the  woods,  where  they  were  finally  re-formed,  and  the 
cannonade  which  had  been  intermitted  at  the  moment 
of  storm  was  feebly  resumed.  Croghan,  however,  knew 
that  he  had  nothing  more  to  fear.  The  assault  had  been 
repulsed  with  fearful  loss,  the  actual  fighting  occupying 
scarcely  half  an  hour.  He  had  made  good  his  defiance 
and  had  held  the  fort. 

The  situation  of  the  wounded  men  in  the  ditch  was  pit- 
iful. The  British  could  make  no  move  to  extricate  them 
or  succor  them.  To  come  out  in  the  open  and  face  those 
rifles  was  death  to  them;  and  the  Americans  did  not  dare 
to  open  the  gate  and  go  into  the  ditch  for  the  same  rea- 
son. The  poor  soldiers  had  to  lie  there  and  endure  their 
sufferings  as  best  they  could  through  the  long  night. 
Croghan  was  a  merciful  man  and  he  did  what  he  could  for 
them.  Buckets  of  water — the  first  thing  a  wounded  man 
in  battle  craves — were  lowered  down  to  them  over  the 
stockade,  and  a  small  trench  was  dug  beneath  it  into  the 
ditch  through  which  those  who  were  able  to  crawl  could 
come  into  the  American  works  for  help.  Some  of  the 
more  slightly  wounded  managed  to  reach  their  own  lines 
under  cover  of  the  darkness. 

The  loss  of  the  British  had  been  so  severe  during  the 


304       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

action  of  the  two  days — between  twenty-five  and  thirty 
per  cent,  of  the  five  hundred  engaged,  not  including  the 
casualties  among  the  Indians,  which  were  considerable — 
that  Proctor  retreated  during  the  night  with  such  precip- 
itancy that  he  left  behind  one  boatload  of  stores  and 
munitions  of  war;  and  the  next  morning  the  triumphant 
defenders  gathered  some  seventy  stand  of  arms,  in  addi- 
tion to  those  taken  from  the  men  who  had  been  swept 
into  eternity  in  the  ditch,  which  had  been  abandoned  by 
the  British  in  their  hasty  flight.  The  American  loss  was 
one  poor  fellow  killed  and  seven  wounded,  none  severely ! 

The  American  supply  depots  were  saved,  and  the  whole 
state  of.  Ohio  was  again  delivered  from  the  fear  of  a  Brit- 
ish conquest,  with  its  attendant  savage  horrors,  by  the 
pluck  and  devotion  of  this  young  man  and  his  gallant  lit- 
tle band.  As  General  Harrison  said,  in  his  report  of  the 
occurrence : 

"  It  will  not  be  the  least  of  General  Proctor's  mortifi- 
cation to  find  that  he  has  been  baffled  by  a  youth  who  has 
just  passed  his  twenty-first  year.  He  is,  however,  a  hero, 
worthy  of  his  gallant  uncle,  General  George  Rogers 
Clark." 

Congress  brevetted  Croghan  a  lieutenant-colonel,  and, 
years  afterward,  presented  him  with  a  medal  of  honor  for 
his  splendid  and  magnificent  defence  with  its  far-reaching 
consequences.  Like  his  great  uncle,  he  had  again  saved 
the  northwest  to  the  American  flag.  And  the  final  de- 
feat of  Proctor  at  the  Thames  may  be  traced  back  to  this 
bloody  repulse  at  Lower  Sandusky. 


PART  VI 
TEXAS 

I 

David  Crockett   and   the    Most    Desperate    Defence 
in  American  History 


DAVID    CROCKETT 

AND     THE     MOST     DESPERATE    DEFENCE    IN 
AMERICAN    HISTORY 


I.     A  Typical  American 


MY  DOG 


T 


HAT    is   what, 
in  emphatic  Ian- 


ANDREW  JACKSON. 

consonant  with  his  ac- 
tions, David  Crockett 
said  he  would  never  wear  on  his  collar.  And  the 
doughty  declaration  of  individual  right  following  may 
be  taken  as  indicating  what  David  Crockett  really  was. 
It  reads  well  in  these  days  of  the  Boss  and  His  Slaves — 
which  things  are  we! 

"  I  am  at  liberty  to  vote  as  my  conscience  and  judgment 
dictate  to  be  right,  without  the  yoke  of  any  party  on  me, 
or  the  driver  at  my  heels  with  the  whip  in  his  hands,  com- 
manding me  to  '  Gee-whoa-haw  '  just  at  his  pleasure." 

The  spelling  of  the  paragraph  is  not  that  of  its  author. 
In  his  autobiography,  one  of  the  most  naive  and  delight- 
ful of  books,  he  takes  occasion  to  defend  his  orthography 
by  remarking  that  he  despised  "  the  way  of  spelling  con- 
trary to  nature !  "  It  may  be  said,  in  passing,  that  many 
of  his  most  eminent  fellow-citizens  and  contemporaries 
shared  his  contempt  for  the  rules  of  orthography.  In 

307 


308       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

that  book  he  speaks  of  himself  with  the  utmost  frankness; 
as  for  instance : 

"  Obscure  as  I  am  my  name  is  making  a  considerable 
deal  of  fuss  in  the  world.  I  can't  tell  why  it  is,  nor  in 
what  it  is  to  end.  Go  where  I  will  everybody  seems  anx- 
ious to  get  a  peep  at  me;  and  it  would  be  hard  to  tell 
which  would  have  the  advantage  if  I,  and  the  '  Govern- 
ment,'* and  '  Black  Hawk,'  and  a  great  eternal  big  cara- 
van of  wild  varments,  were  all  to  be  showed  at  the  same 
time  in  four  different  parts  of  any  of  the  big  cities  of  the 
nation,  I  am  not  so  sure  that  I  shouldn't  get  the  most 
custom  of  any  of  the  crew !  " 

A  modest  man  was  David,  it  would  appear,  and  a  confi- 
dent author,  too;  witness  this  assertion: 

"  I  don't  know  of  anything  in  my  book  to  be  criticised 
by  honorable  men.  Is  it  my  spelling? — that's  not  my 
trade.  Is  it  my  grammar? — I  hadn't  time  to  learn  it  and 
make  no  pretension  to  it.  Is  it  in  the  order  and  arrange- 
ment of  my  book? — I  never  wrote  one  before  and  never 
read  very  many;  and  of  course  know  mighty  little  about 
that.  Will  it  be  on  authorship? — this  I  claim  and  I'll 
hang  on  to  it  like  a  wax  plaster !  " 

Evidently  he  considered  grammar  of  no  more  account 
than  spelling,  and  equally  evidently  the  porous  plaster  had 
not  been  invented  when  he  searched  for  a  clinging  simile ! 

There  never  was  the  slightest  room  for  misunderstand- 
ing where  Crockett  was  concerned.  His  character  was 
plainness  and  simplicity  itself.  He  usually  hit  the  mark 
at  which  he  aimed,  whether  with  a  rifle  or  not,  in  life,  so 
clearly  and  plainly  that  dispute  was  impossible.  Even 

*By   the    "Government"  he   means — and  appropriately  enough,  too—- 
Andrew Jackson,  the  book  being  written  while  Crockett  was  in  Congress. 


David  Crockett  309 

the  "  'coon  "  up  the  tree  upon  which  he  "  drew  a  bead  " 
with  his  famous  weapon,  the  death-dealing  "  Betsy,"  at 
once  recognized  the  futility  of  resistance,  and,  being  for 
the  nonce  endowed  with  speech,  with  the  famous  remark, 
"  Don't  shoot,  Colonel,  I'll  come  down,"  gave  up  the 
game.  True,  Crockett  would  not  be  Andrew  Jackson's 
dog,  and  because  he  countered  some  of  the  President's 
plans  he  had  to  give  way — as  did  nearly  everyone  else  in 
like  circumstances.  But  nothing  less  than  "  Old  Hick- 
ory " — better  "  Old  Steel  " — ever  mastered  or  moved 
this  redoubtable  pioneer — unless  it  was  a  woman.  His 
was  a  susceptible  heart! 

Nowhere  but  in  America  would  such  a  career  as  Crock- 
ett's have  been  possible.  With  Jackson  and  Houston  he 
represents  a  phase  of  American  life,  opportunity,  and  suc- 
cess, peculiar  to  the  time  and  not  to  be  repeated  again. 
Though  he  was  the  least  and  humblest  of  the  famous  trio 
in  both  achievement  and  reputation,  he  was  not  unworthy 
of  association  with  them.  And  upon  the  score  of  manly, 
lovable  qualities  he  stood  first  of  the  three.  His  famous 
motto,  which  he  earnestly  strove  to  live  up  to,  was  of  the 
very  best: 

"  Be  sure  you're  right,  then  go  ahead  ! " 

Crockett  was  born  at  Limestone,  Greene  County,  Ten- 
nessee, on  the  seventeenth  of  August,  1786.  His  father 
was  an  Irish  immigrant  who  had  fought  in  the  Revolu- 
tion at  King's  Mountain — a  patent  of  nobility  on  the 
frontier,  that — and  his  mother  was  an  American  girl  (the 
combination  is  delightful  and  promising).  His  parents 
were  poor  but  happy — and  therefore  honest  it  may  be  in- 
ferred. Young  David  grew  up  in  the  wilds  of  Tennessee, 
a  tall,  sturdy,  swarthy  lad,  with  hair  black  and  straight  as 


310       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

an  Indian's  and  keen  yet  merry  eyes  to  match.  He  took 
to  the  forest  instinctively,  loving  it,  mastering  its  hidden 
lore,  knowing  its  secrets,  and  little  else  apparently. 

At  the  age  of  twelve  he  was  apprenticed  to  a  Dutch 
teamster,  very  much  against  his  desire.  After  an  enforced 
journey  of  four  hundred  miles  to  Virginia  he  ran  away, 
and  not  daring  to  follow  the  road  for  fear  of  pursuit,  he 
plunged  into  the  wilderness  and  made  his  way  back  home 
after  a  hazardous  and  wonderful  journey  alone  through 
the  trackless  woods.  He  was  thereafter  sent  to  school, 
where  he  spent  just  four  days.  Having  whipped  a  larger 
and  older  boy  who  attempted  to  tyrannize  over  him,  he 
played  truant  to  avoid  punishment,  and  when  detected 
ran  away  again. 

He  spent  some  three  years  in  teaming  and  nearly  two 
years  with  a  hatter — singularly  inappropriate  calling — 
and  then  returned  home.  He  found  his  people  in  strait- 
ened financial  circumstances  and  generously  worked  a 
year  to  cancel  two  notes  amounting  to  $86  which  a 
neighbor  held  against  the  elder  Crockett.  Thereafter  he 
resolved  to  go  to  school.  Love  sent  him  there.  The 
young  girls  of  the  vicinity  scorned  him  for  his  ignorance, 
which  of  books  at  any  rate  was  dense,  not  to  say,  total. 
As  he  said  long  after : 

"  But  it  will  be  a  source  of  astonishment  to  many  who 
reflect  that  I  am  now  a  member  of  the  American  Congress 
— the  most  enlightened  body  of  men  in  the  world — that 
at  so  advanced  an  age  as  the  age  of  fifteen  I  did  not  know 
the  first  letter  in  the  book !  " 

He  continued  at  school  for  six  months,  working  two 
days  a  week  for  his  board  and  attending  the  sessions  on 
the  other  four.  And  that  completed  his  education.  At 


David  Crockett  311 

the  age  of  fifteen  he  "  struck  out  "  for  himself  and  became 
a  farm  laborer,  teamster,  trapper,  hunter,  and  general 
frontiersman.  After  various  love  affairs  more  or  less 
serious,  in  1809  he  married  a  young  Irish  girl,  with  whom 
he  moved  westward  to  Franklin  County  and  began  house- 
keeping with  "  fifteen  dollars'  worth  of  things  fixed  up 
pretty  grand !  "  For  six  years  the  young  couple  were 
very  happy.  They  had  plenty  to  eat,  largely  the  result 
of  Crockett's  skill  with  old  "  Betsy,"  enough  to  wear,  the 
fruit  of  the  young  wife's  loom,  and  they  exemplified  in 
their  lives  his  saying,  "  For  I  reckon  we  love  as  hard  in 
the  backwoods  as  any  people  in  the  whole  creation ! " 
The  death  of  his  first  wife  in  1815  was  a  sad  blow  to  him 
and  his  young  children. 

In  1813  Crockett  served  with  credit  as  a  scout  under 
Jackson  in  the  Creek  War.  In  1816  he  married  again, 
this  time  a  widow.  There  were  three  sets  of  children 
who  lived  together  in  an  amicable  if  happy-go-lucky  way. 
In  1821  he  was  elected  a  magistrate  and  a  colonel  of  mili- 
tia, although  at  the  time  he  says  he  had  never  read  a 
newspaper !  Such  was  his  popularity  that  he  was  succes- 
sively elected  to  the  State  Legislature  and  then  to  Con- 
gress, where  he  served  two  terms;  his  ignorance,  his  odd- 
ity, his  humor,  his  bravery,  and  his  shrewdness,  making 
him  a  figure  of  national  prominence.  Failing  of  re-elec- 
tion because  of  his  antagonism  to  the  policy  of  his  whilom 
friend  Jackson,  and  finding  any  future  political  career  in 
Tennessee  closed  to  him,  he  determined  like  many  south- 
ern men  of  that  day  to  go  to  Texas,  then  in  the  beginning 
of  her  efforts  for  freedom.  There  he  hoped  to  make  his 
fortune  and  there  he  found  his  end.  And  truly  nothing 
in  his  life  became  him  better  than  the  ending  of  it ! 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 


II.     The  Lone  Star  Republic 

By  the  treaty  of  1819  with  Spain  the  United  States  re- 
linquished all  claim  to  the  western  part  of  Louisiana,  so 
called,  lying  south  of  the  Red  River  and  west  of  the  Sa- 
bine,  including  the  territory  now  comprised  within  the 
present  state  of  Texas,  then  a  part  of  the  vice-royalty  of 
Mexico.  In  1821  Mexico  revolted  from  Spain,  and  in 
1822  one  Iturbide  assumed  the  government  and  the  Im- 
perial title;  his  career  was  brief  but  stirring,  and  in  1824 
he  was  deposed  and  a  constitution  establishing  the  Re- 
public of  Mexico  was  adopted.  Of  this  Republic  Texas, 
conjoined  to  Coahuila,  its  western  neighbor,  became  one 
of  the  states. 

The  first  American  colony  of  any  moment  had  been 
planted  there  in  1820  under  the  leadership  of  Stephen  T. 
Austin,  justly  styled  "  The  Father  of  Texas."  Successive 
immigration  from  the  southern  United  States  during  fif- 
teen years  had  brought  the  number  of  white  Americans 
within  the  quarter  million  miles  of  Texas  land  up  to  twen- 
ty thousand,  with  a  small  but  steadily  increasing  number 
of  negro  slaves.  The  Spanish  or  Mexican  population 
was  inconsiderable. 

The  character  of  the  American  immigrants  was  not 
uniform.  There  were  many  insolvent  debtors  who  had 
fled  from  their  creditors  in  the  States,  broken  shop-keep- 
ers leaving  the  letters  "  G.  T.  T."  (Gone  to  Texas)  chalked 
upon  their  doors,  not  a  few  adventurers  and  soldiers  of 
fortune,  and  as  everywhere,  some  scoundrels,  but  the  gen- 
eral average  of  the  American  settlers  was  remarkably 
high.  The  majority  were  honest,  capable,  law-abiding, 
hard-working  people  of  the  middle  class,  the  best  stock 


David  Crockett  3*3 

out  of  which  to  build  a  nation.  Accustomed  to  hunting 
and  frontier  life,  they  were  bold  and  hardy,  if  reckless  and 
impatient  of  discipline  and  restraint.  All  of  them,  like 
Crockett,  were  expert  riflemen. 

Meanwhile,  the  Mexican  government  became  the  prize 
of  a  succession  of  worthless  adventurers,  using  their  op- 
portunities for  their  own  aggrandizement.  Finally,  in 
1833,  one  Antonio  Lopez  de  Santa  Anna  seized  the  Pres- 
idential office,  abolished  the  Congress  and  made  himself 
Dictator.  This  petty  "  Napoleon  of  the  West,"  as  he 
loved  to  style  himself,  was  as  black-hearted  a  scoundrel 
as  ever  schemed  himself  into  power.  Born  at  Jalapa  in 
Mexico  in  1795,  he  had  been  successively  a  lieutenant- 
colonel  in  the  Spanish  army,  an  adherent  of  Iturbide,  a 
traitor  to  him,  the  diabolus  ex  machina  of  the  successive 
revolutions  with  their  different  presidents,  dictators,  etc. 
— in  short,  a  sort  of  sub-tropic  Warwick !  He  was  not 
without  some  of  the  qualities  of  a  soldier,  however,  and  he 
certainly  knew  how  to  win  the  confidence  of  his  country- 
men again  and  again,  in  spite  of  their  frequent  repudia- 
tions of  him,  in  his  long  and  eventful  career.  His  op- 
pressive hand  was  at  once  laid  upon  Texas,  and  because 
the  Americans  would  not  tamely  submit  to  be  deprived 
of  every  political  right  by  a  series  of  drastic  measures 
which  actually  included  the  proposed  confiscation  of  their 
arms — their  sole  means  of  defence  against  Indians  and  the 
Mexicans  themselves — they  revolted.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  they  were  eager  to  do  so. 

The  position  of  Mexico  on  the  question  of  slavery  was 
a  great  cause  of  irritation  to  the  Texans.  Slavery  was 
prohibited  by  the  Mexican  Congress  in  1824  and  was  for- 
mally abolished  by  the  legislature,  all  Mexicans,  in  Tex- 
as-Coahuila,  in  1829.  The  Americans  refused  to  be  gov- 


Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

erned  by  these  enactments  and  prohibitions  and  defiantly 
retained  their  slaves,  even  adding  to  their  number  by  im- 
portation. This  was  flat  and  open  rebellion  and  was  quite 
sufficient  to  account  for  the  hostilities  that  followed. 
However,  Mexico  might  have  cared  but  little  about  that 
matter  if  the  colony  had  not  rebelled  against  the  wretched 
maladministration  of  the  Mexicans  and  because  the 
Americans  were  practically  refused  even  the  smallest  share 
of  the  government,  in  spite  of  the  constitution.  Besides, 
it  is  not  the  habit  of  Americans  to  submit  to  the  dom- 
ination of  any  alien  race  whatsoever,  especially  of  the 
Spanish  family.  They  could  not  stand  the  Spaniard  in 
his  Mexican,  or  any  other  guise — that  was  enough  to 
account  for  it. 

III.     The  Mission  del  Alamo 

The  Texan  War  of  Independence  began  with  a  skirmish 
at  Gonzales  near  the  end  of  October,  1835.  A  Texan  dec- 
laration of  principles  was  adopted  November  I3th,  1835, 
and  the  Declaration  of  Independence  on  March  2nd  of 
the  following  year.  The  battle  of  Concepcion  was  won 
by  the  Texans  on  October  28th,  1835,  and  on  December 
loth,  after  a  siege  and  an  assault  which  continued  for  six 
days,  the  city  of  San  Antonio  de  Bexar,  the  most  consid- 
erable town  in  Texas,  was  captured,  and  every  Mexican 
soldier  was  expelled  from  the  territory.  Hard  by  the 
town  stood  the  buildings  of  the  Mission  of  San  Anto- 
nio de  Valero,  commonly  called  the  Mission  del  Alamo, 
or  the  Alamo,  word  signifying  cotton-wood  tree.  The 
Alamo  was  founded  by  the  Franciscans  in  1703,  and 
after  various  removals,  established  in  its  present  loca- 
tion in  1722. 


<U 

_c 

H 


David  Crockett  3J5 

The  mission  buildings  comprised  a  main  plaza  in  the 
shape  of  a  long  parallelogram  about  fifty  by  a  hundred  and 
fifty  yards,  with  the  major  axis  north  and  south;  the  en- 
closing wall,  built  of  adobe  bricks,  was  about  eight  feet 
high  and  three  feet  thick.  On  the  west  side  of  the  plaza 
stood  a  row  of  one-story  buildings,  and  along  the  middle 
of  the  east  side  for  about  sixty  yards  was  a  two-story  con- 
vent eighteen  feet  wide.  To  the  east  of  the  convent  lay 
a  yard  about  a  hundred  feet  square  with  walls  over  three 
feet  thick  and  about  sixteen  feet  high,  further  strength- 
ened on  the  inside  by  an  embankment  eight  feet  high.  At 
the  northeast  corner  of  this  yard  was  a  sally-port  covered 
by  an  earth  redoubt.  At  the  southeast  corner  of  the  yard 
stood  the  stone  church  of  the  mission,  built  in  the  form  of 
a  cross,  properly  orientated;  the  walls  of  the  church  were 
five  feet  thick  and  twenty-two  feet  high,  and  the  building 
was  roofless  and  dismantled.  A  formidable  stockade  con- 
nected the  church  and  the  southeast  corner  of  the  main 
plaza.  Fourteen  small  pieces  of  artillery  were  mounted 
on  the  walls,  including  three  in  the  chancel  of  the  church. 
Two  aqueducts  touching  the  west  wall  and  the  church  re- 
spectively provided  a  sufficiency  of  water. 

Early  in  1836  the  commander  of  this  fort,  if  such  the 
mission  may  be  called,  was  Lieutenant-Colonel  William 
Barrett  Travis,  a  young  lawyer  from  North  Carolina,  a 
tall,  manly,  red-headed  young  fighter,  then  just  twenty- 
eight  years  of  age.*  Associated  with  him  in  the  Alamo 

*  Since  the  first  publication  of  this  sketch,  I  have  received  a  number  of  let- 
ters from  persons  prominent  in  the  local  history  of  South  Carolina,  asserting 
that  Travis'  name  was  William  Barr,  not  Barrett,  and  that  he  was  a  found- 
ling ;  the  name,  which  should  be  spelled  Bar,  being  given  him,  it  is  alleged, 
from  the  fact  that  he  was  found  one  morning  tied  to  the  bars  of  a  gate  on 
the  farm  of  a  man  named  Travis,  who  adopted  him  and  named  him  accord- 
ingly. The  Travis  lot  was  situated  on  the  public  road  between  Saluda  and 


316       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

was  Colonel  James  Bowie  of  Georgia — he  of  the  sinister 
knife  of  the  same  name.  Bowie  was  senior  in  age  and 
rank  to  Travis,  but  had  been  disabled  by  a  fall  and  was 
then  confined  to  his  room  by  the  injury,  to  which  an  at- 
tack of  pleuro-pneumonia  was  superadded;  and  he  was 
therefore  compelled  to  yield  the  command  to  Travis. 
Bowie  was  not  too  ill  to  fight,  though,  as  we  shall  see. 
Under  these  two  officers  were  about  one  hundred  and  forty 
officers  and  men,  a  totally  inadequate  force,  as  it  would 
have  required  at  least  one  thousand  men  properly  to  man 
the  extensive  lines  of  the  Alamo. 

To  this  little  band  early  in  February,  1836,  came  a  wel- 
come re-enforcement  in  the  shape  of  David  Crockett  with 
twelve  of  his  Tennessee  friends  and  neighbors  willing  to 
help  Texas  to  gain  her  independence  and  incidentally  to 
join  in  what  they  all  dearly  loved — any  kind  of  a  fight! 
They  were  all  clad  in  hunting  suits,  with  'coon-skin  caps, 
and  armed  with  long  rifles  and  Bowie  knives !  It  is  sig- 
nificant of  the  spirit  of  the  man,  that  Crockett  refused  to 
swear  allegiance  to  "  any  future  government  of  Texas," 
until  the  word  "  republican  "  had  been  inserted  after  the 
word  "  future  "  in  the  prescribed  form  of  the  oath. 

IV.     The    Hundred   and    Eighty    against    the    Five 
Thousand 

On  the  twenty-third  of  February,  1836,  Santa  Anna 
in  person  appeared  before  the  fort  with  the  advance 
of  his  army  and  demanded  its  surrender.  He  had  led 
some  five  thousand  men  of  the  Mexican  regular  army, 
with  many  camp  followers  and  women,  a  forced  march  of 

Johnston,  South  Carolina,  and  my  correspondents  claim  Travis  should  there- 
fore be  credited  to  that  State.  This  adds  a  further  touch  of  romance  to 
Travis'  story. 


David  Crockett  317 

one  hundred  and  eighty  leagues  from  Monclova  to  San 
Antonio,  across  a  desert  country  in  the  depth  of  a  Texas 
winter  with  its  extremes  of  heat  and  cold  and  blasting 
storm.  Only  after  incredible  hardships  and  great  losses 
had  the  terrible  march  been  completed.  That  Santa 
Anna  could  do  this  is  no  small  evidence  of  his  capacity  as 
a  leader  and  his  ability  to  inspire  his  men  to  heroic  action. 

His  arrival  was  a  complete  surprise  to  the  Texans; 
many  of  them  were  scattered  through  the  town  at  a  fan- 
dango at  the  time.  When  the  alarm  was  given  they  re- 
paired to  the  Alamo  and  Travis  met  the  demand  for  a 
surrender  by  a  shot  from  his  battery,  at  the  same  time 
hoisting  his  flag.  This  was  the  white,  red,  and  green 
banner  of  the  Mexican  Republic  with  two  stars  (Texas- 
Coahuila)  in  the  centre  in  place  of  the  familiar  eagle  and 
serpent.  The  lone  star  flag  had  not  then  been  adopted. 

Santa  Anna  displayed  a  red  ensign  signifying  that  no 
quarter  would  be  given,  and  began  erecting  batteries  with 
which  he  opened  fire,  the  Texans  replying  with  good  ef- 
fect. The  Mexicans,  while  greatly  outnumbering  the 
garrison,  were  not  yet  in  sufficient  force  completely  to 
invest  the  works,  although  their  numbers  were  increasing 
as  the  different  regiments  followed  the  advance  guard, 
and  the  Texans  might  easily  have  escaped.  Travis,  how- 
ever, had  no. thought  of  retreating — not  he.  He  imme- 
diately despatched  the  following  appeal  for  assistance : 

"  To  the  people  of  Texas  and  all  Americans  in  the  World. 
"  Commandancy  of  The  Alamo, 

"  BEXAR,  February  24,  1836. 
"  FELLOW  CITIZENS  AND  COMPATRIOTS. 
"  I  am  besieged  by  a  thousand  or  more  of  the  Mexicans 
under  Santa  Anna.     I  have  sustained  a  continual  bom- 


3*8       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

bardment  for  twenty-four  hours  and  have  not  lost  a  man. 
The  enemy  have  demanded  a  surrender  at  discretion;  oth- 
erwise the  garrison  is  to  be  put  to  the  sword  if  the  place  is 
taken.  I  have  answered  the  summons  with  a  cannon  shot 
and  our  flag  still  waves  proudly  from  the  walls.  /  shall 
never  surrender  or  retreat.  Then,  I  call  upon  you,  in  the 
name  of  liberty,  of  patriotism,  and  of  everything  dear  to 
the  American  character,  to  come  to  our  aid  with  all  dis- 
patch. The  enemy  are  receiving  re-enforcements  daily 
and  will  no  doubt  increase  to  three  or  four  thousand  in 
four  or  five  days.  Though  this  call  may  be  neglected,  I 
am  determined  to  sustain  myself  as  long  as  possible  and 
die  like  a  soldier  who  never  forgets  what  is  due  to  his  own 
honor  and  that  of  his  country. 

"  Victory  or  Death! 

"  W.  BARRETT  TRAVIS, 

"  Lieutenant-Colonel,  Commanding. 

"  P.  S. — The  Lord  is  on  our  side.  When  the  army 
appeared  in  sight  we  had  not  three  bushels  of  corn.  We 
have  since  found  in  deserted  houses  eighty  or  ninety 
bushels  and  got  into  the  walls  twenty  or  thirty  beeves." 

Brave  Travis !  Other  ringing  sentences  from  his  sub- 
sequent letters  are  worth  quoting : 

"  I  shall  continue  to  hold  the  Alamo  until  I  get  relief 
from  my  countrymen,  or  I  perish  in  its  defence." 

"  Take  care  of  my  little  boy,  if  the  country  should  be 
saved  I  may  make  him  a  splendid  fortune,  but  if  the  coun- 
try should  be  lost  and  I  should  perish,  he  would  have 
nothing  but  the  proud  recollection  that  he  is  the  son  of  a 
man  who  died  for  his  country." 

The  thought  of  that  little  boy  adds  a  touch  of  pathos  to 
the  story  of  the  dauntless  cavalier  and  his  devoted  band 


David  Crockett  319 

facing  fearful  odds  "  for  liberty  and  honor,  God  and  Tex- 
as, victory  or  death !  " 

Travis  also  despatched  messengers  invoking  assistance 
from  adjacent  garrisons.  Colonel  James  Butler  Bonham, 
a  young  South  Carolina  volunteer,  broke  through  the 
Mexican  lines  and  rode  post-haste  to  Colonel  Fannin  at 
Goliad,  some  two  hundred  miles  to  the  southeast.  Fan- 
nin promptly  started  out  with  three  hundred  men  and 
four  guns,  but  his  ammunition  wagons  broke  down,  his 
transportation  failed  him,  his  provisions  gave  out,  he 
could  not  get  his  artillery  over  the  rivers,  and  he  was 
reluctantly  forced  to  turn  back. 

He  tried  in  vain  to  keep  Bonham  with  him.  "  I  will 
report  to  Travis  or  die  in  the  attempt,"  returned  the  chi- 
valric  Carolinian,  who  had  been  a  schoolboy  friend  of 
Travis,  as  he  started  back  to  the  fort.  At  one  o'clock  in 
the  morning  of  March  3rd  he  succeeded  in  reaching  the 
fort  through  the  beleaguering  army,  after  a  long  and  dan- 
gerous ride  in  which  he  literally  took  his  life  in  his  hands. 
So  far  as  any  one  could  see  he  came  back  to  certain  death 
with  his  friends.  Honor  to  him !  Travis  had  received  a 
valuable  re-enforcement  of  thirty-two  heroic  fellows  from 
Gonzales,  who  dashed  through  the  lines  on  horses,  cut- 
ting their  way  into  the  Alamo  at  three  in  the  morning  of 
March  ist.  Captain  J.  W.  Smith  led  them  and  they  came 
cheerfully,  although  they  divined  what  their  fate  would 
be  if  the  place  was  stormed. 

For  eleven  days  the  siege  continued.  The  Mexicans 
lost  heavily  whenever  they  came  within  rifle  range;  on 
one  occasion  they  tried  to  bridge  the  aqueduct  and  thirty 
of  them  were  instantly  killed.  Sorties  were  made  by  the 
besieged  at  first,  but  were  soon  given  over.  The  bom- 
bardment of  the  works  was  continuous,  but,  strange  to 


320       Border  Fights  and  Fighters  . 

say,  no  Texan  was  killed,  although  the  whole  garrison  was 
completely  worn  out  by  the  strain  of  ceaseless  watching 
and  continual  fighting.  There  is  no  question  but  they 
could  have  cut  their  way  out  and  escaped  at  almost  any 
time,  but  no  one  dreamed  of  such  a  thing.  They  were 
there  to  stay  until  the  end,  whatever  it  might  be. 

Santa  Anna  would  undoubtedly  get  the  fort  eventual- 
ly ;  well,  he  might  have  it  by  paying  the  price ;  so  they  rea- 
soned, but  that  price  would  be  one,  in  the  words  of  a  later 
revolutionist,  that  would  "  stagger  humanity."  Know- 
ing Santa  Anna,  they  could  have  no  doubt  of  his  inten- 
tions toward  them,  especially  as  he  had  made  no  secret 
of  his  purpose  to  put  them  all  to  death  unless  they  surren- 
dered at  discretion.  The  calm  courage  with  which  they 
faced  this  appalling  certainty  is  as  noteworthy  as  the  high 
heroism  of  their  last  defence. 

The  last  of  Santa  Anna's  army  arrived  at  Bexar  on  the 
second  of  March;  he  allowed  them  three  days  for  recuper- 
ation and  on  the  fifth  held  a  council  of  war  to  decide  upon 
the  course  to  be  pursued.  The  council,  like  every  other, 
was  divided,  with  a  preponderance  of  opinion  in  favor  of 
waiting  for  siege  guns  to  breach  or  batter  down  the  walls. 
Santa  Anna,  however,  determined  upon  an  immediate  as- 
sault, to  be  delivered  at  daybreak  the  next  morning. 
Twenty-five  hundred  picked  men  in  four  columns,  com- 
manded respectively  by  General  Cos,  who  violated  his 
parole  thereby,  and  Colonels  Duque,  Romero  and  Mo- 
rales, were  detailed  to  make  the  attack.  They  were  pro- 
vided with  scaling  ladders,  axes,  and  crowbars,  in  addi- 
tion to  their  weapons;  and  the  cavalry  of  the  army  was 
disposed  at  strategic  points  to  prevent  escape  should  any 
of  the  hundred  and  eighty  defenders  succeed  in  breaking 
through  the  assaulting  columns.  Or,  possibly,  their 


David  Crockett  321 

function  was  to  cut  down  any  panic-stricken  Mexican 
who  might  wish  to  withdraw  from  before  the  death-deal- 
ing Texas  rifles ! 

Colonel  Duque  was  to  lead  the  main  assault  on  the 
north  side,  while  a  simultaneous  attack  was  to  be  made 
on  the  east  and  west  sides  and  at  the  redoubt  covering  the 
sally-port  from  the  convent  yard.  No  attack  appears  to 
have  been  contemplated  on  the  stockade  on  the  south 
wall  at  first.  Accounts  of  what  happened  differ  widely; 
it  is  to  be  remembered  that  no  American  lived  to  tell  the 
tale,  and  it  is  hard  to  get  at  the  absolute  truth  from  Mex- 
ican testimony,  and  the  frightened  recollection  of  two 
dazed  women  and  two  servants.  Each  narrator  must 
build  his  own  account  by  considering  all  the  testimony 
and  weighing  the  evidence.  This  that  follows  seems  to 
me  to  be  what  happened. 

About  four  o'clock  on  Sunday  morning,  March  the 
sixth,  the  notes  of  a  bugle  calling  the  Mexican  troops  to 
arms  rang  over  the  quiet  plain,  across  which  the  first  gray 
light,  precursor  of  the  dawn,  was  already  stealing.  Bu- 
gles all  about  caught  up  the  shrill  refrain,  lights  appeared 
in  the  circling  camps,  the  trampling  feet  of  hurrying  men, 
the  commands  of  the  officers,  the  rattling  of  arms,  the 
neighing  of  the  horses,  all  apprised  the  weary  garrison 
that  the  moment  they  had  expected  was  at  hand.  They 
were  instantly  assembled. 

What  happened  as  they  fell  in  on  the  plaza  before  they 
went  to  their  several  stations?  Tradition  has  it  that  Trav- 
is paraded  them,  briefly  addressed  them,  pointed  out  their 
certain  fate,  as  he  had  sworn  never  to  surrender,  and  bade 
any  who  desired  to  do  so  to  leave  him  freely  and  escape 
while  there  was  yet  time.  Not  a  man  availed  himself  of 
the  permission.  "  We  will  stay  and  die  with  you,"  they 


322       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

cried  unanimously  as  they  repaired  to  their  stations  on 
the  outer  wall. 

Cool,  calm,  and  resolute,  they  waited  the  breaking  of 
the  battle  storm;  undaunted  by  the  prospect,  unshaken 
by  the  fearful  odds  before  them.  America  has  produced 
no  better  soldiers !  Even  the  dozen  sick  men  in  the  long 
room  of  the  hospital  with  Bowie  were  provided  with 
arms,  of  which,  fortunately,  they  had  a  good  supply,  and 
they,  too,  shared  the  same  heroic  resolution.  Ill  and 
well  were  equally  determined. 

It  was  early  morning  when  all  the  dispositions  were 
made  on  both  sides,  and  the  day  was  breaking  clear,  cool 
and  beautiful,  a  sweet  day  indeed  in  which  to  die  for  home 
and  country  and  liberty,  in  the  great  cause  of  human  free- 
dom— so  they  may  have  thought  as  they  looked  toward 
the  eastward  light  for  the  last  time.  The  quiet  watchers 
on  the  walls  presently  detected  movements  in  the  dark 
rank  of  the  besiegers.  They  were  coming,  then !  Music, 
too,  was  there.  All  the  bands  of  the  Mexican  army  sta- 
tioned with  Santa  Anna  on  the  battery  in  front  of  the 
plaza  were  playing  a  ghastly  air  called  "  Deguello  " — 
cut-throat ! — that  and  the  red  flag  speaking  of  no  quar- 
ter pointed  out  a  deadly  purpose.  Well,  the  Texans 
needed  none  of  these  things  to  nerve  their  arms.  Rifles 
were  lifted  and  sighted,  the  lock-strings  of  the  carefully 
pointed  cannon  were  tightened;  they  could  not  afford  to 
throw  away  any  shots,  there  was  no  hurry,  no  confusion.- 

The  Mexicans  were  nearer  now.  The  bugles  rang 
charge,  the  close  ordered  ranks  broke  into  a  run.  From 
the  east,  the  west,  the  north,  they  came,  cheering  and  yell- 
ing madly !  A  shot  burst  from  the  plaza,  the  crack  of  the 
rifles  broke  on  the  air,  a  fusillade  ran  along  the  walls  on 
every  side.  The  cannon  roared  out,  hurling  into  the 


David  Crockett  323 

faces  of  the  Mexicans  bags  filled  with  hideous  missiles. 
The  advancing  lines  hesitated,  paused,  halted,  fled !  The 
first  assault  was  beaten  off,  the  ground  was  covered  with 
dead  and  wounded;  comparative  stillness  supervened. 
Well  done,  brave  Texans,  look  to  your  arms  again, 
snatch  a  cup  of  water,  enjoy  your  moment  of  respite, 
they  are  coming  again ! 

The  east  and  west  columns  had  been  driven  to  the 
north.  Colonel  Duque,  gallant  soul,  re-formed  them  on 
his  own  brigade;  there  was  a  small  breach  in  the  north 
wall;  he  hurled  the  mass  at  it,  himself  in  the  lead.  The 
Americans  ran  to  the  point  threatened;  again  the  wither- 
ing rifle  fire.  Duque  fell,  desperately  wounded;  mortal 
man  could  not  face  that  deadly  discharge;  the  soldiers 
gave  way  once  more — repulsed  a  second  time;  would  they 
dare  come  on  again? 

Far  off  on  the  east  side  the  roar  of  battle  still  surged 
around  the  redoubt  covering  the  convent  yard.  How 
went  the  battle  there,  thought  the  triumphant  defenders 
of  the  plaza  as  they  gazed  on  their  flying  foemen?  It  was 
a  critical  moment  for  the  Mexicans.  Santa  Anna  recog- 
nized it,  and  galloped  on  the  field  leading  a  re-enforce- 
ment. He  noted  that  the  west  wall  had  been  denuded  of 
most  of  its  defenders,  and  with  soldierly  decision  threw 
his  fresh  troops  against  it,  leading  them  in  person,  some 
accounts  say.  Oh,  for  a  thousand  brave  hearts  and  true 
to  man  the  long  lines!  The  hundred  and  eighty  could 
not  be  everywhere,  the  few  at  the  point  of  impact  died, 
and  the  Mexicans  entered  the  plaza,  at  last. 

At  the  same  time  the  officers  drove  the  men  up  to  the 
third  assault  on  the  north  wall.  Under  the  eye  of  Santa 
Anna  they  advanced  for  a  last  desperate  attempt.  Honor 
to  those  Mexicans  for  their  bravery  too.  In  this  attack  a 


324       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

bullet  pierces  Travis'  brain — the  little  boy  has  only  the 
heritage  of  honored  and  heroic  name  then — he  falls  dead 
on  the  trail  of  a  cannon.  Bonham  is  killed  serving  a  gun, 
the  north  wall  is  taken,  the  redoubt  to  the  east  is  gained, 
the  stockade  is  attacked,  other  soldiers  swarm  up  to  the 
south  wall,  break  through  the  gate — they  come  in  on 
every  side.  The  Texans  are  surrounded  by  fire  and  steel. 
Some  of  them  run  back  while  there  is  yet  time  and  rally 
in  the  convent  where  Bowie  lies.  Others  follow  Crock- 
ett, now  in  chief  command,  to  the  church  to  die  with 
him  there.  The  whole  Mexican  army  is  upon  them  now, 
the  nine  score  against  the  five  thousand  at  last. 

The  old  convent  is  divided  into  little  cell-like  rooms, 
each  with  a  door  opening  into  the  yard  or  plaza,  but  with 
no  connection  between  the  rooms.  A  few  Texans  hold 
each  chamber,  and  into  each  smoke-filled  enclosure  the 
infuriated  troops  pour  their  gun  fire  and  then  rush  the 
rooms,  to  writhe  and  struggle  over  the  bloody  pavements 
until  all  the  defenders  are  killed.  No  quarter  indeed ! 

What  of  the  invalids  in  the  hospital  fighting  from  their 
beds?  Forty  Mexicans  fall  dead  before  the  door  of  the 
long  room  before  they  think  to  bring  a  cannon  and  blow 
the  defenders  into  eternity.  Bowie  lies  alone  in  his  room 
waiting  with  grim  resolution  for  what  is  coming,  pain 
from  injuries  forgotten,  fevered  pulse  beating  higher;  his 
bed  is  covered  with  pistols  and  near  his  hand  lies  his  trusty 
knife.  A  brown  fierce  face  peers  in  the  door,  another  and 
another,  the  room  is  filled  with  smoke;  yells  and  curses 
and  groans  rise  from  the  floor  where  a  trail  of  stricken 
soldiers  reaches  from  the  door  to  the  bedside.  And  one 
bolder  than  his  fellows  lies  on  Bowie's  breast  with  that 
awful  American  knife  buried  deep  in  his  heart  and  Bowie 
has  died  as  he  had  lived — sword  in  hand ! 


"  So  he  makes  a  fine  end  !  " 


David  Crockett  325 

The  only  fight  left  now  is  in  the  churchyard.  A  little 
handful,  bloody,  powder-stained,  desperate,  are  backed 
up  against  the  wall.  It  is  hand-to-hand  work  now  on 
both  sides,  no  time  to  reload,  bayonet  thrust  against  rifle- 
butt  in  berserker  fury.  Hope  is  lost,  but  they  are  dying 
in  high  fashion,  faces  to  the  foe,  striking  while  they  have  a 
heart-beat  left.  "  Fire  the  magazine,"  says  Crockett  to 
Major  Evans,  the  only  remaining  officer.  The  man  runs 
toward  the  church  where  the  powder  is  stored  and  is 
stricken  down  on  the  threshold.  The  Mexicans  rush 
upon  Crockett  and  his  remnant.  The  keen  death-dealing 
"  Betsy  "  has  spoken  for  the  last  time,  the  old  frontiers- 
man has  clasped  it  by  the  barrel  now.  Swinging  this  iron 
war-club  he  stands  at  bay,  disdaining  surrender.  The 
Mexicans  are  piled  before  him  in  heaps,  but  numbers  tell; 
they  swarm  about  him,  they  leap  upon  him  like  hounds 
upon  a  great  stag,  they  pull  him  down,  bury  their  bayo- 
nets in  his  great  heart,  spurn  him,  trample  upon  him,  spit 
upon  him — so  he  makes  a  fine  end ! 

It  is  over.  Gunner  Walker,  the  last  man  in  arms,  is 
shot  and  stabbed,  tossed  aloft  on  bayonets  in  fact.  The 
flag  is  down.  No  one  is  left  to  defend  it  longer.  Five 
wounded,  helpless  prisoners  are  dragged  before  Santa 
Anna  and  at  his  command  butchered  where  they  lie,  or 
stand,  some  of  the  Mexicans  officers — to  their  credit  be 
it  said — vainly  protesting.  Six  people  who  were  in  the 
fort  at  the  beginning  were  left  alive  by  the  Mexicans,  two 
women,  two  children,  and  two  servants,  one  a  negro  slave, 
the  other  a  Mexican. 

One  hour!  One  short  hour  filled  with  such  sublime 
struggle  as  has  not  been  witnessed  often  in  the  brief  com- 
pass of  sixty  minutes.  The  sun  is  shining.  The  plaza  is 
filled  with  light,  the  light  of  morning,  the  light  of  heroic 


326       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

death,  of  self-sacrifice  absolute;  and  the  day  breaks,  a  day 
of  eternal  remembrance.  Wherever  men  live  to  love  the 
hero,  these  will  not  be  forgotten.  By  the  defence  of  that 
old  deserted  Spanish  House  of  Prayer,  it  was  consecrated 
anew  to  the  service  of  God,  through  the  sufferings  of  men. 
Their  sacrifice  had  not  been  in  vain,  for  the  cry  that  swept 
Texas  to  freedom,  that  drove  the  Mexican  beyond  the 
Rio  Grande  was 

Remember  the  Alamo! 

One  scene  remains  of  the  splendid  story.  By  Santa 
Anna's  orders  the  dead  Texans,  to  the  number  of  one 
hundred  and  eighty-two,  were  gathered  together  and 
arranged  in  a  huge  pyramid,  a  layer  of  wood,  a  layer  of 
dead,  and  so  on,  and  the  torch  applied.  A  not  unfitting 
end.  As.  the  dead  demigod  of  Homeric  days  was  laid 
upon  his  funeral  pyre,  as  the  dead  Viking  of  later  time 
was  burned  with  his  ship,  so  these  modern  heroes.  The 
wind  scattered  their  ashes  on  the  spot  their  defence  had 
immortalized  and  made  it  forever  hallowed  ground. 

The  hundred  and  eighty  had  done  well,  each  one  had 
accounted  for  more  than  four  of  the  enemy,  for  the  Span- 
ish casualties  are  estimated  as  between  six  hundred  and  a 
thousand.  And  most  was  in  hand-to-hand  fighting.  The 
Texan-Americans  had  done  their  best  and  given  their  all. 
Honor  to  their  valor  and  their  courage ! 

On  the  monument  erected  at  the  state  capitol  at  Aus- 
tin, to  commemorate  their  unparalleled  achievement,  is 
graven  this  significant  line : 

"  THERMOPYLAE   HAD   ITS   MESSENGER   OF   DEFEAT, 
THE   ALAMO   HAD   NONE." 


PART  VI 
TEXAS 

II 

The  Worst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds 


THE    WORST    OF    SANTA    ANNA'S 
MISDEEDS 

I.     The  Delay  at  Fort  Defiance 

THERE  are  thousands  who  have  read  of  the  siege 
and  defence  of  the  Alamo.  The  tale  of  the  heroic 
resistance  put  forth  by  the  little  band  of  Ameri- 
cans under  Travis,  Crockett,  Bowie  and  Bonham,  who 
fought  until  they  were  exterminated  without  exception, 
when  Santa  Anna  stormed  the  old  Mission  in  San  An- 
tonio, is  a  familiar  one.  Without  in  the  least  measure 
condoning  the  action  of  the  Mexicans,  there  was  some 
degree  of  justification  for  it,  in  that  the  Americans  refused 
to  surrender,  and  when  the  place  was  taken  by  storm  they 
were  naturally  put  to  death  by  the  infuriated  soldiery,  es- 
pecially as  they  disdained  to  ask  for  quarter.  To  ask 
mercy  would  have  been  useless  anyway,  for  other  events 
showed  that  it  would  not  have  been  granted.  But  for  the 
massacre  of  the  men  of  Fannin's  command  at  La  Bahia, 
or  Goliad,  there  is  not  the  shadow  of  justification.  And 
their  story  is  not  often  told  outside  of  Texas  and  is  prac- 
tically forgotten  by  the  general  reader. 

In  the  spring  of  1836  the  bulk  of  the  Texan  forces  was 
stationed  at  the  town  of  Goliad,  or  the  old  Spanish  Mis- 
sion of  La  Bahia,  on  the  San  Antonio  River,  in  the  south- 
western portion  of  the  present  state,  under  the  command 
of  Colonel  J.  W.  Fannin,  a  brave,  enthusiastic  young 

329 


33°       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

southerner,  a  soldier  of  fortune  in  fact,  who  had  proffered 
his  services  to  the  Texans  to  assist  them  to  gain  that  in- 
dependence of  Mexico  for  which  they  were  struggling-. 
Fannin's  command  comprised  nearly  five  hundred  men, 
all  Americans,  less  than  a  score  being  Texans.  The  men 
were  all  volunteers  who  had  come  principally  from  the 
southern  United  States,  although  the  recruits  were  by 
no  means  confined  to  that  section;  among  them  were  sev- 
eral from  Illinois.  Texas  had  spread  appeals  broadcast 
throughout  the  Union,  and  the  response  had  been  prompt. 

Old  Sam  Houston,  the  commander-in-chief  of  the  Tex- 
an army,  unfortunately  was  not  allowed  to  have  his  way, 
and  differences  between  him,  the  President,  and  the  Vice- 
President,  and  other  authorities,  produced  the  inevitable 
results  of  divided  counsels  and  many  heads;  successive 
failures.  The  loss  of  the  Alamo  need  never  have  oc- 
curred, and  the  fearful  fate  meted  out  to  Fannin  and  his 
men,  as  we  shall  see,  was  more  unendurable  to  think  of 
because  unnecessary. 

The  Mexicans  invaded  the  country  in  force.  Instead 
of  concentrating  the  Texan  troops  and  the  volunteers, 
who  were  men  of  a  very  high  class  indeed,  the  Texan 
forces  were  scattered.  Consequently  they  were  beaten  in 
detail  and  it  was  not  until  Houston's  masterly  strategy 
had  drawn  Santa  Anna,  the  Dictator,  far  into  the  country, 
where  his  force  was  annihilated  and  he  was  captured  at 
San  Jacinto,  that  success  attended  the  American  efforts 
for  freedom. 

A  column  of  Mexican  troops  under  General  Urrea, 
marching  up  the  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  had  over- 
whelmed several  small  detachments  of  Fannin's  com- 
mand, the  main  body  of  which  was  concentrated  at  Goliad 
for  the  purpose,  utterly  futile,  of  invading  Mexico  with 


Worst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds  331 

a  view  to  capturing  Matamoras.  Urrea's  success  with  the 
detachments  was  complete,  though  not  won  without  a 
heavy  cost  in  life,  for  the  Texans  resisted  manfully  and 
never  gave  up  as  a  rule  until  their  ammunition  was  ex- 
hausted and  they  were  left  without  means  of  defence. 

The  Mexican  Republic  had  decreed  that  any  foreign- 
ers— that  is,  Americans — captured  under  arms,  or  found 
bearing  arms  against  Mexico,  should  suffer  instant  death. 
Urrea,  like  all  the  other  Mexican  commanders,  invariably 
executed  the  members  of  the  detachments  as  fast  as  he 
captured  them.  Once  in  a  while  one  or  two  from  the  dif- 
ferent little  garrisons  escaped  to  tell  the  story,  but  that 
was  all. 

When  the  Alamo  was  captured  and  its  defenders 
slaughtered,  Houston  sent  peremptory  orders  to  Fannin 
to  retire  to  Victoria,  where  he  would  be  in  position  to 
join  forces  with  the  commander-in-chief.  He  instructed 
him  to  bury  his  heavy  artillery  and  destroy  or  conceal 
such  stores  as  would  impede  his  rapid  movement,  and  to 
start  immediately. 

Some  twenty-five  miles  south  of  Fannin's  post,  which 
he  called  Fort  Defiance,  was  a  little  station  called  Refu- 
gio.  Learning  that  there  were  some  unprotected  fami- 
lies there,  Fannin  had  despatched  Captain  King  with  his 
company  of  some  twenty-eight  men  to  bring  them  off. 
King  marched  to  Refugio  and  got  there  just  before 
Urrea,  who  immediately  assaulted  him  with  his  advance. 
The  Texans  seized  the  Mission  church  and  defended  it 
gallantly,  so  that  Urrea's  efforts  to  storm  were  success- 
fully withstood  at  great  cost  to  the  Mexicans. 

Meanwhile  Fannin  waited,  delaying  his  departure  and 
postponing  obedience  to  Houston's  orders,  for  tidings  of 
King.  Finally  on  the  arrival  of  a  messenger  from  Refu- 


332       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

gio  asking  for  help,  he  sent  Lieutenant-Colonel  Ward, 
his  second  in  command,  with  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  men  to  Refugio  to  bring  off  King  and  his  party. 
Ward  reached  the  Mission  in  safety. 

Fannin's  force  was  divided  into  two  battalions,  a  Geor- 
gia battalion,  of  which  Ward  was  the  immediate  com- 
mander, and  the  Lafayette  battalion.  King,  belonging  to 
the  other  battalion,  foolishly  refused  to  acknowledge 
Ward's  seniority  and  in  the  face  of  the  enemy  there  was  a 
difference  between  the  two  commanders,  which  resulted 
in  King's  leaving  Refugio  with  his  own  men  and  a  few  of 
Ward's. 

They  were  pursued,  captured,  and  shot  dead  to  a  man. 
Ward  with  the  remainder  of  his  command,  now  defending 
the  Mission,  fought  off  the  Mexicans,  who,  whatever  may 
be  said  against  them,  certainly  showed  dauntless  gallantry 
in  assaulting  so  often  and  so  unsuccessfully  fortified  po- 
sitions defended  by  men  whose  ability  as  marksmen  had 
been  proven  over  and  over  again;  but  the  ammunition  of 
the  Americans  at  last  grew  low,  and  finding  that  he  had 
but  a  few  rounds  left,  Ward  broke  through  the  besieging 
line  in  the  night,  and  by  keeping  closely  in  the  timber  and 
marshes,  thus  avoiding  the  effective  Mexican  cavalry,  he 
made  good  his  escape  for  the  time. 

He  headed  for  Victoria,  where  he  supposed  he  would 
find  Fannin  and  possibly  Houston.  Meanwhile  Fannin, 
having  weakened  his  force  by  some  two  hundred  men,  was 
still  waiting  at  Goliad.  Six  days  actually  passed  after  he 
received  the  order  to  move  immediately  before  he  com- 
plied with  it.  He  was  moved  to  delay,  first,  by  a  desire  to 
help  the  people  at  Refugio,  and  then  by  his  unwillingness 
to  sacrifice  King's  command,  and  then  by  the  necessity  of 
hearing  from  Ward's  expedition,  so  that  for  the  sake  of  a 


Worst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds  333 

few  families,  whom  he  eventually  failed  to  save,  he  threw 
away  the  precious  days  and  finally  involved  the  whole 
command  in  overwhelming  disaster.  An  eye-witness  tes- 
tifies that  the  order  to  retreat  was  received  just  before 
the  march  of  Ward's  battalion.  Fannin's  excuse  was,  of 
course,  his  chivalric  reluctance  to  abandon  King. 

The  military  exigency  was  so  great  that  he  should  have 
started  without  a  moment's  hesitation  in  obedience  to  his 
positive  orders.  He  held  the  command  of  by  far  the  most 
efficient  body  of  men  in  Texas;  if  lost  they  could  scarcely 
be  replaced.  He  was  not  a  professional  soldier,  however. 
His  military  experience  had  been  confined  to  the  battle 
of  Concepcion  late  in  the  previous  year,  in  which  he  had 
distinguished  himself  for  courage  and  daring,  of  which  in- 
deed he  manifested  no  lack  at  this  juncture.  Finally  he 
received  information  from  one  Captain  Frazier,  who  had 
volunteered  to  procure  it,  which  convinced  him  of  the 
folly  and  futility  of  waiting  any  longer  for  tidings  from 
Refugio  and,  after  wasting  Friday  in  some  useless  scout- 
ing, on  the  morning  of  Saturday,  the  nineteenth  day  of 
March,  1836,  he  moved  out  from  Fort  Defiance,  first  dis- 
mantling it,  and  started  to  march  to  Victoria. 

Even  then  he  lingered,  although  the  Mexican  troops 
had  been  reported  the  day  before.  Instead  of  discarding 
everything  but  absolute  necessities  he  took  with  him  a 
great  train  of  artillery  and  supplies  drawn  by  oxen.  The 
party  now  numbered  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
The  day  was  damp  and  foggy.  Although  they  started 
very  early  in  the  morning  they  did  not  succeed  in  getting 
across  the  ford  of  the  river  until  after  ten  o'clock.  Then 
they  moved  slowly  over  the  open  prairie  until  about  noon, 
when  they  halted  in  a  little  depression  of  the  country 
which  had  been  burned  over  and  in  which,  perhaps  be- 


334       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

cause  it  was  low  and  received  the  drainage,  there  was  an 
outcrop  of  fresh  grass.  They  rested  here  an  hour  to  give 
the  cattle  time  for  a  mouthful. 


II.     The  Battle  of  the  Coleta 

Fannin  now  sent  his  only  horsemen,  some  thirty  troop- 
ers, under  the  command  of  Colonel  Horton,  ahead  to  re- 
connoitre. This  little  band  was  prevented  from  rejoining 
the  main  body  and  so  escaped  capture.  Early  in  the  after- 
noon the  oxen  were  yoked  to  the  wagons  and  the  party 
started  forward  again,  hoping  to  reach  the  heavily  wood- 
ed banks  of  a  little  river,  the  Coleta,  where  they  would 
find  shelter  and  water  and  could  make  camp  for  the 
night.  They  were  about  four  miles  from  the  river  when 
a  body  of  horse  galloped  out  from  the  cover  of  the  trees 
and  approached  them  from  the  flank. 

At  first  they  imagined  that  the  horsemen  were  their 
own  cavalry,  but  they  were  soon  undeceived.  The  troop- 
ers were  accompanied  by  infantry,  and  easily  got  between 
them  and  the  river.  On  either  side  the  Americans  the 
tree  clumps  extended  for  some  distance,  and  as  they  halt- 
ed and  opened  fire  with  a  six-pounder  on  the  Mexican 
cavalry,  other  troops  broke  from  the  woodland  referred 
to  and  debouched  upon  the  open  prairie.  A  glance  back- 
ward revealed  additional  troops  following  upon  their 
trail.  It  took  but  a  moment  to  discover  to  them  that 
they  were  fairly  surrounded  upon  an  open  prairie  without 
wood,  or  water,  or  protection. 

They  happened  at  the  time  to  be  in  a  depression  some 
six  feet  below  the  normal  level  of  the  prairie;  some  little 
distance  off  there  was  a  slight  elevation  raised  as  many 
feet  above  the  level.  Fannin  at  once  put  his  force  in  mo- 


vVorst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds  335 

tion  to  reach  the  knoll,  but  the  breaking  down  of  his  am- 
munition wagons  forced  him  to  stay  where  he  was.  He 
drew  up  the  three  hundred  men  in  a  hollow  square  in  the 
shape  of  a  parallelogram,  with  the  oxen  and  wagons  in 
the  middle,  with  a  few  women  and  children  whom  he  had 
brought  with  him.  He  placed  a  small  piece  of  artillery, 
a  four  or  six-pounder,  at  each  corner  of  the  square  and 
then  resolutely  awaited  the  attack. 

The  flag  carried  by  the  Georgia  battalion,  a  white  field 
with  a  single  blue  star  with  the  words,  "  Liberty  or 
Death !  "  was  then  unfurled.  Fortunately  the  Texans 
possessed  an  abundant  supply  of  arms  and  ammunition. 
There  were  two  or  three  weapons  to  each  man,  rifles, 
muskets,  and  pistols. 

The  Mexicans  made  no  haste  to  approach,  and  Fannin 
very  deliberately  completed  his  preparations,  cautioning 
his  men  by  no  means  to  fire  until  he  gave  the  word.  Be- 
tween two  and  three  o'clock  Urrea,  who  was  in  command 
of  the  Mexican  forces,  began  the  battle.  His  troops, 
converging  upon  the  square  from  all  sides,  opened  fire 
as  they  came  within  range,  and  under  cover  of  the  smoke 
tried  to  rush  the  Americans  with  the  bayonet. 

Reserving  their  fire  until  the  Mexicans  were  close  at 
hand,  the  Texans  poured  in  volley  after  volley,  which  did 
frightful  execution,  and  as  the  Mexicans  turned  and  fled, 
leaving  numbers  of  dead  and  dying  upon  the  field,  the  six- 
pounders  opened  fire  upon  them  with  good  effect. 

The  Mexicans  had  no  artillery  with  which  to  make  re- 
ply, but  with  remarkable  courage — considering  the  popu- 
lar idea  of  their  quality — they  re-formed  out  of  range  and 
came  on  once  more,  only  to  be  whirled  back  in  another 
disastrous  repulse.  Finally  Urrea  in  person  led  a  dash- 
ing cavalry  charge  on  the  front  of  the  square,  at  the  same 


33 6       Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

time  making  a  demonstration  with  his  infantry  on  the 
other  sides  to  prevent  Fannin  from  detaching  men  to 
meet  the  onset  of  the  horse. 

The  attack  was  gallantly  made,  but  was  no  more  suc- 
cessful than  the  first  two  had  been.  Although  the  can- 
non through  rapid  firing  had  become  by  this  time  so 
clogged  and  so  hot  as  to  put  them  out  of  action,  there  be- 
ing no  water  in  the  square  with  which  to  sponge  them, 
the  Texans  managed  by  quick  and  hard  fighting  to  beat 
back  for  the  third  time  the  Mexicans,  who  outnumbered 
them  three  to  one.  An  eye-witness  gives  the  following 
account  of  the  field  after  their  first  repulse : 

"  The  scene  was  now  dreadful  to  behold.  Killed  and 
maimed  men  and  horses  were  strewn  over  the  plain;  the 
wounded  were  rending  the  air  with  their  distressing 
moans;  while  a  great  number  of  horses  without  riders 
were  rushing  to  and  fro  back  upon  the  enemy's  lines,  in- 
creasing the  confusion  among  them;  they  thus  became  so 
entangled,  the  one  with  the  other,  that  their  retreat  re- 
sembled the  headlong  flight  of  a  herd  of  buffaloes,  rather 
than  the  retreat  of  a  well-drilled,  regular  army,  as  they 
were." 

The  casualties  in  the  little  band  had  been  by  no  means 
light,  and  there  were  already  many  wounded  in  the 
square.  Instances  of  heroism  were  many.  One  young 
lad  named  Ripley,  who  was  shot  in  the  thigh,  especially 
distinguished  himself.  Unable  to  stand,  he  was  lifted  up 
on  a  cart,  and  with  a  woman  to  assist  him  in  making  a  rest 
for  his  gun,  he  watched  his  opportunity  and  killed  four  of 
the  Mexicans  in  succession  by  accurate  shooting  before  he 
was  hit  a  second  time  in  the  arm  and  was  unable  to  take 
further  part  in  the  action. 

During  the  whole  of  the  battle  most  of  the  men  re- 


Worst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds  337 

mained  lying  down  until  the  successive  assaulting  columns 
had  nearly  reached  them,  when  they  would  rise  and  deliv- 
er their  fire.  Fannin  and  his  officers,  however,  persisted 
in  standing,  as  the  artillerists  of  necessity  had  done. 
Many  of  them  were  wounded,  including  Fannin  quite 
severely  in  the  thigh. 

As  evening  drew  on,  numbers  of  Indians,  allies  to  the 
Mexicans,  crept  forward  through  the  tall  grass,  skilfully 
masking  their  progress  and  successfully  concealing  them- 
selves, until  they  were  close  enough  to  take  pot  shots  at 
the  Texans,  who  suffered  more  from  this  attack  than  from 
the  previous  efforts  of  the  Mexicans. 

When  it  grew  dark  enough,  however,  for  the  Texans  to 
see  the  flashes  of  the  Indians'  guns,  their  skilful  marks- 
manship drove  the  savages  out  of  range.  It  was  as  much 
as  a  man's  life  was  worth  to  fire  his  gun,  a  Texan  bullet 
always  found  the  flash  and  the  man  back  of  it,  so  that 
when  darkness  came  the  enemy  drew  out  of  range.  Out 
of  the  three  hundred  men  sixty-seven  had  been  killed  or 
wounded,  most  of  the  wounded  being  seriously  hurt. 

Their  situation  was  critical.  They  were  surrounded 
by  an  overwhelming  force  of  Mexicans.  There  was  no 
water  in  the  square,  and  they  found  by  some  oversight 
that  no  food  had  been  brought  along,  or  the  wagons  con- 
taining it  had  been  abandoned.  It  was  possible  for  the 
survivors,  staking  everything  on  the  attempt,  to  break 
through  the  Mexican  lines  in  an  endeavor  to  reach  the 
river,  but  to  do  it  they  would  have  to  abandon  some  sixty 
wounded  comrades  to  the  mercy  of  the  conquerors, 
which  was  not  to  be  thought  of.  The  matter  was  de- 
bated furiously  early  in  the  evening,  and  it  was  unani- 
mously decided  to  stay  together. 

Fannin,  whose  superb  courage  redeems  his  lack  of  ca- 


33  8       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

pacityj  'was  confident  that  as  they  had  beaten  the  enemy 
before  they  could  do  it  again  without  difficulty,  and  that 
if  they  maintained  a  bold  front  the  Mexicans  would  with- 
draw. The  wounded  stifled  their  groans  and  endured 
their  sufferings,  therefore,  as  best  they  could;  while  the 
surgeons,  of  whom  there  were  several  with  the  party,  men 
of  skill  and  training,  did  what  they  could  to  alleviate  their 
sufferings  in  the  pitch  darkness.  Everybody  else  worked 
in  preparing  for  the  attack  of  the  morrow.  The  area  en- 
closed by  the  square  was  much  contracted,  and  the  wagons 
were  placed  on  the  outside  to  form  some  sort  of  a  protec- 
tion, a  trench  was  dug  and  a  slight  earthwork  thrown  up 
behind  which  the  men  could  await  the  coming  attack. 

Nobody  slept.  The  night  was  chill  and  damp.  The 
next  morning,  Sunday,  the  twentieth  of  March,  Passion 
Sunday,  broke  clear  and  warmer,  but  the  day  brought  no 
encouragement  to  the  hungry,  thirsty  little  army.  The 
Mexicans  had  been  heavily  re-enforced  during  the  night 
until  they  numbered  some  1,200  effectives,  and  they  were 
now  provided  with  artillery  overmatching  the  useless 
American  guns.  The  battle  began  at  once.  The  artil- 
lery fired  grape  shot  and  solid  shot,  demolishing  the  frail 
American  entrenchments  and  rendering  the  position  un- 
tenable. The  Americans  replied  as  well  as  they  could, 
but  their  ammunition  presently  gave  out  and  there  was 
nothing  left  for  them  but  surrender. 

III.     The  Massacre  at  Goliad 

Fannin  was  averse  to  capitulation,  but  he  was  over- 
borne. Indeed  it  is  hard  to  see  what  else  they  could  have 
done  but  surrender.  Accordingly,  after  passively  endur- 
ing the  enemy's  fire  for  some  time,  the  white  flag  was 


Worst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds  339 

raised.  After  due  preliminaries  a  solemn  convention 
was  drawn  up  in  triplicate,  duly  signed  and  witnessed,  by 
which  the  most  favorable  terms  were  given  the  Ameri- 
cans. The  officers'  side  arms  and  private  baggage  were 
to  remain  in  their  possession,  and  the  whole  party  was  to 
be  sent  back  to  the  United  States  upon  their  promise  not 
to  bear  arms  against  the  Mexican  government  in  future. 
As  solemnly  as  men  could  do  it,  these  conditions  were  ex- 
pressed and  the  terms  made.  The  men  were  to  be  treat- 
ed as  prisoners  of  war  until  they  could  be  sent  back,  with 
every  right  jealously  preserved.  Upon  these  terms  and 
no  other  Fannin  surrendered.  The  Mexicans  allege  that 
the  surrender  was  unconditional,  but  their  statement  is 
disputed  by  every  American  witness  who  survived  the 
massacre  that  followed. 

The  captured  Americans  were  immediately  disarmed 
and  marched  back  to  Goliad,  whither  they  were  joined  a 
few  days  later  by  eighty  recruits  who  had  landed  at  Mata- 
gorda  Bay  and  been  captured  before  they  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  strike  a  blow.  They  were  also  joined  by  the  sur- 
vivors of  Ward's  command  who  were  taken  near  Victoria. 
Ward's  party  had  but  three  rounds  of  ammunition  left 
per  man  when  they  surrendered. 

The  surgeons,  of  whom  there  were  eight  with  the  sev- 
eral commands — the  Texan  cause  seems  to  have  appealed 
powerfully  to  doctors — were  left  on  the  battle-field  with 
the  wounded  of  both  sides,  who  were  treated  temporarily 
as  well  as  possible,  and  two  days  afterward  they  were  all 
brought  back  to  Goliad. 

General  Urrea  seems  to  have  acted  at  first  in  good  faith. 
In  spite  of  his  severe  wound,  Fannin,  in  company  with  a 
German  officer  in  the  Mexican  service  named  Holzinger, 
and  some  of  his  own  subordinates,  had  gone  down  to 


340       Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

Matagorda  to  charter  a  steamer  or  other  vessel  to  take 
the  prisoners  to  New  Orleans. 

None  being  immediately  available,  however,  he  re- 
turned to  Goliad  to  wait.  The  men  suffered  the  usual 
hardships  of  prisoners  of  war,  but  otherwise  were  not 
badly  treated,  except  in  the  case  of  the  wounded. 

The  loss  of  the  Mexicans  in  the  battle  was  never  ascer- 
tained definitely.  It  must  have  been,  however,  between 
two  and  three  hundred,  although  the  Mexican  reports 
claim  much  less,  for  the  Texans  were  remarkably  good 
marksmen,  who  shot  to  kill.  At  any  rate,  there  were  at 
Goliad  over  one  hundred  Mexican  wounded,  most  of 
them  so  severely  as  to  be  utterly  incapacitated.  The  ser- 
vices of  the  American  surgeons  were  invaluable  to  these, 
and  the  Mexicans  at  first  refused  to  allow  the  Texan 
wounded  to  be  attended  to  at  all  until  the  Mexicans  had 
been  looked  after,  but  the  doctors  stoutly  insisted  upon 
treating  the  cases  in  the  order  of  their  severity,  without 
regard  to  nationality,  and  in  the  end  had  their  way. 

Santa  Anna,  who  was  campaigning  to  the  eastward, 
had  been  apprised  of  the  capture.  He  instantly  de- 
spatched an  order  to  the  commanding  officer  at  Goliad, 
in  the  absence  of  Urrea,  one  Colonel  Portilla,  directing 
his  attention  to  the  proclamation  of  the  government — 
himself — with  regard  to  foreigners  in  arms  against  the 
Mexican  Republic,  and  peremptorily  ordering  him  to 
carry  out  the  decree — in  other  words,  to  have  the  prison- 
ers shot  at  once ! 

The  order  reached  Portilla  on  Saturday  night,  March 
27th.  It  filled  him  with  dismay,  and  it  is  only  just  to  the 
other  Mexican  officers  to  say  that  their  commander's  dis- 
may and  horror  were  shared  by  the  most  of  them.  But 
Santa  Anna  was  the  Dictator  of  the  miscalled  Mexican 


Worst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds  341 

Republic,  and  no  despot  ever  ruled  more  supremely  than 
he.  Portilla  deliberated  for  a  night  upon  the  subject,  and 
finally  concluded  that  he  had  no  alternative  but  obe- 
dience. He  determined,  however,  to  save  Miller's  men, 
who  had  committed  no  overt  act  other  than  landing  on 
the  shore,  and  the  surgeons  as  well,  with  some  others 
who  had  been  attending  to  the  wounded,  eight  in  all. 

He  did  this  largely  on  the  representations  of  Colonel 
Garay,  one  of  his  subordinates,  whose  name  deserves  to 
be  held  in  kindly  remembrance,  for  he  protested  vehe- 
mently against  the  order  and  repudiated  all  connection 
with  it  both  before  and  after  the  catastrophe. 

The  eight  surgeons,  in  entire  ignorance  of  the  reason 
for  the  order,  early  on  the  morning  of  Palm  Sunday, 
March  27th,  1836,  were  marched  to  Garay 's  head-quarters 
and  kept  there  with  two  other  men  to  whom  he  had  be- 
come attached,  and  to  save  whom  he  had  risked  much. 
The  wife  of  one  of  the  officers,  Senora  Alvarez,  also 
secreted  several  of  the  Americans. 

The  prisoners  were  entirely  unconscious  of  the  fearful 
fate  prepared  for  them.  Indeed,  although  Fannin  had 
not  succeeded  in  getting  a  ship,  they  anticipated  an  early 
release,  and  one  of  the  survivors  relates  that  they  spent 
the  evening  before  congregated  around  one  of  their  num- 
ber who  had  saved,  or  borrowed,  a  flute,  and  who  played 
hymns  which  they  sang,  ending  with  "  Home,  Sweet 
Home,"  in  which  everybody  joined.  Early  in  the  morn- 
ing of  the  fateful  Sunday  the  three  hundred  prisoners 
appointed  for  massacre  were  divided  into  three  companies 
of  one  hundred  each.  The  wounded  for  the  present  were 
left  behind. 

The  men  were  lined  up  between  two  rows  of  Mexican 
soldiers  fully  armed.  One  party  was  told  that  it  was  to 


342       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

go  out  to  slaughter  beeves;  another  party  that  it  was  to 
be  taken  to  a  convenient  place  for  exchange;  the  third, 
that  it  was  to  be  quartered  somewhere  else,  as  the  place  it 
had  occupied  was  needed  for  Santa  Anna's  army  which 
was  approaching. 

It  was  a  pleasant,  sunny,  delightful  spring  morning. 
Chatting  and  laughing  among  themselves  and  entirely 
unconscious  of  any  impending  disaster  or  treachery,  the 
three  parties  set  out  in  different  directions.  As  they 
marched  through  the  town  many  pitying  glances  were 
cast  upon  them,  and  here  and  there  a  woman,  more  tender- 
hearted than  the  rest,  was  heard  to  murmur,  "  Poor  fel- 
lows, poor  fellows !  "  (Pobrecitos.)  The  Texans  attached 
no  meaning  to  these  words,  however,  supposing  that 
they  were  being  commiserated  as  prisoners,  not  realizing 
that  it  was  on  account  of  their  approaching  murder. 

The  parties  soon  separated,  but  what  happened  to  one 
happened  to  all.  When  they  had  reached  a  suitable  place 
outside  the  town,  where  each  party  was  hidden  from  the 
others,  at  a  sudden  command  the  Mexicans  on  the  left 
flank,  facing  about,  marched  through  the  open  ranks  of 
the  prisoners  and  joined  their  comrades  on  the  right. 
The  men  were  ordered  to  turn  their  backs  upon  the  sol- 
diers, and  sit  down,  and  as,  in  their  bewilderment,  most  of 
them  did  so,  the  guns  of  the  troops  were  presented  and  a 
volley  was  poured  on  the  helpless  prisoners  at  contact 
range. 

Nearly  the  whole  of  each  party  fell  at  the  first  fire. 
Some  there  were,  however,  who  were  only  slightly 
wounded,  and  a  few  untouched.  They  made  a  bold  dash 
instantly  to  escape.  Their  efforts  in  most  cases  were  en- 
tirely unavailing,  for  the  cavalry  had  been  ordered  out  and 
squads  now  appeared  on  the  scene  running  down  the  fu- 
gitives, who  were  also  the  targets  for  rapid  firing  as  the 


Worst  of  Santa  Anna's  Misdeeds  343 

guns  were  loaded.  Most  of  them  were  shot  down.  Out 
of  the  whole  number  some  twenty-seven,  many  of  whom 
were  wounded,  did  make  good  their  escape. 

Acts  of  heroism  were  numerous. 

"  Boys,"  said  one  young  man,  "  they're  going  to  mur- 
der us !  Let's  die  with  our  faces  to  the  foe !  " 

Many  of  them  followed  his  example,  refusing  to  sit 
down,  and  faced  the  Mexican  guns,  waving  their  caps  and 
shouting  with  their  last  breath, 

"Hurrah  for  Texas!" 

With  incredible  brutality  the  Mexicans  examined  the 
bodies  of  the  fallen  and  deliberately  bayoneted  those  who 
yet  survived.  The  hellish  work,  however,  was  not  yet 
over.  Squads  of  soldiers  went  back  to  the  barracks 
where  the  wounded  Americans  lay.  They  dragged  them 
out  on  the  prairie  and  threw  them  upon  the  ground. 
Those  who  could  do  so  struggled  to  their  feet  or  their 
knees,  but  most  of  them  lay  helpless  on  the  sod  and 
were  shot  to  death.  Ward,  a  powerful  and  splendid 
soldier,  died  with  words  of  scorn  and  contempt  and  bitter 
reproaches  for  their  treachery  on  his  lips. 

Fannin  was  the  last  one  to  be  shot.  He  handed  his 
watch  and  money  to  the  officer  commanding  the  firing 
party,  asked  him  not  to  shoot  him  in  the  face  and  to  see 
that  he  was  suitably  buried.  Then  he  struggled  to  his 
feet,  opened  the  breast  of  his  shirt,  and  calmly  awaited  his 
end.  He  had  no  wish  to  survive  after  having  witnessed 
the  massacre  of  his  men.  He  was  shot  in  the  face,  and 
his  body,  with  those  of  the  others,  thrown  into  a  great 
brush  heap  which  was  set  on  fire  with  but  partial  results. 

Among  the  surgeons  was  one  Dr.  Bernard  from  Illi- 
nois, who  has  left  a  description  of  the  situation,  of  the 
helpless  men  in  the  tents  listening  to  the  massacre,  even 
seeing  some  of  the  fugitives  being  shot  or  bayoneted. 


344       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Another  surgeon  was  the  commander  of  the  Georgia 
company,  the  "  Red  Rovers'  Battalion,"  Dr.  Shackelford, 
who  was  forced  to  stand  passive  in  Garay's  -tent  while  his 
own  company,  composed  of  the  best  young  men  in  his 
neighborhood,  whom  he  had  personally  enlisted,  and 
which  included  his  son  and  two  nephews,  was  shot  to 
death. 

The  feelings  of  those  who  had  been  saved  can  scarcely 
be  imagined.  Their  utter  impotence  was  the  worst 
feature  of  the  situation.  Such  was  the  temper  of  the 
soldiers,  inflamed  by  the  massacre,  that  they  would  have 
killed  them  out  of  hand  if  they  could  have  reached 
them.  The  surgeons  were  eventually  saved  and  with  the 
twenty-seven  who  escaped  and  a  few  others  secreted  by 
Madame  Alvarez,  in  all  less  than  forty,  were  the  only  sur- 
vivors of  this  horrible  massacre  of  quite  three  hundred 
and  thirty  helpless  prisoners  who  had  trusted  to  the  sol- 
emn word  of  their  captors — men  to  whom  honor  was 
nothing  but  a  name. 

When  the  massacre,  coupled  with  the  slaughter  at  the 
Alamo,  became  known,  such  a  wave  of  horror  rushed 
through  Texas  and  the  United  States  as  finally  brought 
about  the  success  of  the  effort  to  establish  the  Lone  Star 
Republic.  The  Texans  at  last  took  fierce  vengeance  for 
these  butcherings  on  the  bloody  field  of  San  Jacinto.  It 
is  to  be  wondered  how  the  officers  ever  succeeded  in  re- 
straining the  men  from  executing  summary  justice  upon 
the  bloodthirsty  butcher  who  disgraced  the  profession  of 
arms  and  the  country  over  which  he  ruled  by  this  and 
other  murders  and  massacres  which  he  ordered  without 
a  shadow  of  justification. 

Santa  Anna,  who  loved  to  style  himself  the  Napo- 
leon of  the  West,  is  one  of  the  meanest  characters  of 
modern  history. 


PART  VI 
TEXAS 

III 

Sam  Houston  and  Freedom 


SAM    HOUSTON    AND    FREEDOM 

I.     Some  Characteristics  of  the  Man 

A  REMARK  ABLE  character  was  General  Sam 
Houston,  to  whom  we  were  introduced  at  the 
.  Battle  of  Tohopeka.  He  was  a  descendant  of  a 
North  of  Ireland  family,  coming  from  the  place  which 
may  justly  boast  of  the  ancestry  of  such  men  as  Stark  of 
the  Revolution,  Crockett  of  the  Alamo,  and  Jackson  him- 
self. The  Houston  family  was  one  of  consideration  en- 
titled to  coat  armor  in  the  old  country.  One  of  them  had 
been  among  the  redoubtable  defenders  of  Londonderry  in 
1689.  While  not  belonging  to  the  landed  gentry  of  the 
Old  Dominion,  they  were  large  and  prosperous  farmers. 

Houston's  father  was  an  officer  of  the  famous  brigade 
of  riflemen  that  Morgan  led  to  Washington's  assistance 
from  the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac.  His  mother  was 
one  of  those  pioneer  women  of  superb  physique,  high 
principles,  and  strength  of  mind  and  courage  to  match. 
After  the  death  of  her  husband,  when  young  Sam,  who 
was  born  in  1793,  was  but  thirteen  years  old,  she  took  the 
family  far  over  the  Allegheny  Mountains  and  settled  on 
the  borders  of  the  Cherokee  Nation  in  western  Tennes- 
see. 

Such  schooling  as  the  neighborhood  afforded  was 
given  Sam.  His  educational  opportunities  were  meagre, 
but  he  made  the  best  of  his  limited  advantages  and  with 
such  books  as  the  Bible,  the  Iliad,  Shakespeare,  the  Pil- 

347 


348        Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

grim's  Progress,  and  later  when  he  was  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Texan  army,  Caesar's  Commentaries — in 
translation,  of  course,  which  he  studied  for  the  art  of  war 
— he  gave  himself  a  good  grounding.  He  was  a  constant 
student  in  his  way,  and  in  manner  and  in  ability,  when  he 
became  Governor  of  Tennessee,  President  of  Texas,  Sen- 
ator of  the  United  States,  Governor  of  Texas,  etc.,  he  had 
no  cause  to  blush  when  placed  by  the  most  distinguished 
men  of  his  time. 

According  to  some  authorities  his  unwillingness  to 
clerk  in  a  country  store,  according  to  others  the  refusal 
of  his  older  brothers  to  permit  him  to  study  Latin,  caused 
him  to  abandon  civilization  and  cast  his  lot  in  with  the 
Cherokees,  whose  territory  lay  adjacent  to  his  home.  He 
was  adopted  into  the  family  of  one  of  the  sub-chiefs  of  the 
tribe,  and  for  a  long  period  he  lived  a  wild,  savag;e  life 
with  them.  At  different  intervals  during  his  career  he  re- 
sumed his  relations  with  them,  on  one  occasion  taking  a 
wife  from  among  them,  who  afterward  died,  leaving  no 
children. 

When  he  was  begged  to  come  back,  in  his  grandilo- 
quent way  he  remarked  that  he  preferred  "  measuring 
deer  tracks  to  measuring  tape."  After  several  years  with 
the  Cherokees,  finding  himself  in  debt  for  some  barbaric 
finery,  he  returned  to  civilization  and  opened  a  country 
school  at  the  age  of  eighteen.  His  pluck  was  greater  than 
his  attainments,  which  yet  appear  to  have  been  sufficient 
to  make  the  school  a  success,  for  it  included  all  the  chil- 
dren of  the  neighborhood,  and  he  was  enabled  to  raise  the 
tuition  fee  from  six  to  eight  dollars  per  year,  one-third 
payable  in  corn  at  thirty-three  and  one-half  cents  per 
bushel,  one-third  in  cash,  and  one-third  in  cotton  goods 
or  other  kind.  He  once  said,  after  he  had  filled  almost 


"  She  took  the  family  far  over  the  Allegheny 
Mountains." 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      349 

every  elective  position  except  that  of  President  of  the 
United  States,  that  he  experienced  a  higher  feeling  of 
dignity  and  self-satisfaction  when  he  was  a  school-master 
than  at  any  period  of  his  life. 

Tiring  of  school-teaching  he  enlisted  in  the  army  as  a 
private  and  soon  won  promotion  to  the  rank  of  ensign. 
After  his  early  exploits  he  resigned  from  the  service ;  one 
of  the  reasons  therefor  being  on  account  of  a  severe  and 
merited  rebuke  which  he  received  for  appearing  before 
the  Secretary  of  War  dressed  like  a  wild  Indian!  He 
never  liked  Calhoun  or  his  Democracy  after  that  day. 
He  was  always  a  dandy  in  his  dress,  although  at  times  he 
affected  peculiar  and  striking  costumes  which  his  great 
height  and  imposing  presence  enabled  him  to  wear  with- 
out inspiring  that  ridicule  which  would  have  attended  a 
similar  performance  on  the  part  of  a  less  splendid  man. 

When  he  was  first  inaugurated  Governor  of  Tennessee, 
August  2,  1827,  he  wore  "  a  tall  bell-crowned,  medium- 
brimmed,  shining  black  beaver  hat,  shining  black  patent- 
leather  military  stock  or  cravat  incased  by  a  standing  col- 
lar, ruffled  shirt,  black  satin  vest,  shining  black  silk  pants 
gathered  to  the  waistband  with  legs  full,  same  size  from 
seat  to  ankle,  and  a  gorgeous  red-ground,  many  colored 
gown  or  Indian  hunting  shirt,  fastened  at  the  waist  by  a 
huge  red  sash  covered  with  fancy  bead  work,  with  an  im- 
mense silver  buckle,  embroidered  silk  stockings,  and 
pumps  with  large  silver  buckles.  Mounted  on  a  superb 
dapple-gray  horse  he  appeared  at  the  election  unan- 
nounced, and  was  the  observed  of  all  observers."  I 
should  think  so ! 

When  he  was  a  United  States  Senator  it  was  his  habit 
to  wear,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  clothing  of  a  gen- 
tleman of  the  times,  an  immense  Mexican  sombrero  and 


35°       Border  Fights  and   Fighters 

colored  blanket,  or  serape,  and  his  appearance  naturally 
excited  attention  in  Washington. 

While  candidate  for  re-election  as  Governor  of  Ten- 
nessee, he  abandoned  his  young  wife  after  six  weeks  of 
married  life,  gave  over  his  campaign,  and  once  more 
sought  asylum  with  the  Cherokees.  The  reason  for  his 
action  has  never  been  discovered,  although  he  explicitly 
stated  that  no  reflection  upon  the  character  or  conduct 
of  the  lady  in  question  was  implied  or  expressed  by  his 
conduct.  Championing  the  Indians  when  he  came  back 
to  civilization,  he  became  involved  in  a  quarrel  with  Rep- 
resentative Stanberry,  whom  he  publicly  caned.  For  his 
conduct  he  was  formally  censured  at  the  bar  of  Congress. 
This  quarrel  brought  him  into  public  notice  again.  It  is 
shrewdly  surmised  that  he  provoked  it  for  that  purpose, 
for  he  said : 

"  I  was  dying  out  once,  and  had  they  taken  me  before 
a  justice  of  the  peace  and  fined  me  ten  dollars  for  assault 
and  battery  it  would  have  killed  me;  but  they  gave  me  a 
national  tribunal  for  a  theatre  and  that  set  me  up  again." 

Like  many  men  of  great  physical  vigor  he  was  much 
given  to  excess.  In  his  last  sojourn  among  the  Chero- 
kees, the  Indians  expressed  their  contempt  for  his  dissi- 
pated habits  by  naming  him  the  "  Big  Drunk,"  but  drunk 
or  sober,  there  was  something  about  him  that  inspired  re- 
spect. Whatever  he  did  he  was  always  "  Sam  Houston." 
People  used  to  say  that  he  really  signed  his  name  "  I  am 
Houston."  After  he  was  converted,  however — and  in  a 
large  measure  before  that  time,  at  the  instance  of  his  third 
wife,  a  woman  of  the  most  noble  character,  who  married 
him  to  reform  him  and  did  so — he  entirely  stopped  drink- 
ing and  demeaned  himself  to  the  end  of  his  life  as  a  sincere 
and  humble  Christian  of  the  very  highest  type.  When 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      351 

he  got  drunk,  he  got  thoroughly  drunk,  and  when  he 
became  converted  to  the  Baptist  faith,  he  did  it  with  the 
same  thoroughness;  a  thorough-going  man,  indeed. 

In  one  particular  he  was  remarkable  among  his  con- 
temporaries. He  had  the  greatest  reluctance  to  resort 
to  the  duel,  which  was  then  the  usual  method  of  settling 
differences  between  gentlemen.  He  had  to  endure  many 
sharp  remarks  and  bitter  criticisms  on  this  account,  his 
courage  was  even  impugned  at  times,  although  we  now 
realize  it  not  only  to  have  been  past  reproof  but  actually 
to  have  been  the  very  highest  courage,  as  evidenced,  for 
one  thing,  by  those  very  refusals.  Sometimes  his  wit  en- 
abled him  to  escape.  To  one  gentleman  who  challenged 
him,  after  counselling  with  his  secretary,  he  informed  the 
gentleman  who  brought  the  challenge  that  his  principal 
was  number  fourteen  on  the  list,  and  that  he  could  hold 
out  no  hope  of  meeting  him  until  he  had  disposed  of  the 
other  thirteen ! 

His  grandiloquent  mind  invested  the  slightest  occur- 
rence with  majesty.  A  friend  of  his  gave  him  a  razor, 
which  he  received  with  these  words : 

"  Major  Rector,  this  is  apparently  a  gift  of  little  value, 
but  it  is  an  inestimable  testimony  of  the  friendship  which 
has  lasted  many  years,  and  proved  steadfast  under  the 
blasts  of  calumny  and  injustice.  Good-by.  God  bless 
you.  When  next  you  see  this  razor  it  shall  be  shaving 
the  President  of  the  Republic,  by  G — d !  " 

His  manner  toward  ladies  was  as  magnificent  as  his 
person,  his  dress,  his  oratory.  His  habitual  word  of  ad- 
dress to  them  was  "  lady;  "  a  very  courtly,  distinguished 
old  fellow  was  he. 

After  his  supersession  as  Governor  of  Texas,  because 
of  his  unwillingness  to  allow  the  state  to  go  out  of  the 


352       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

Union,  when  the  officers  of  the  Confederacy  established 
a  stringent  law  requiring  all  men  over  sixteen  years  to 
register  and  obtain  a  pass,  Houston  paid  no  attention  to 
the  order.  When  he  was  halted  by  an  officer  who  de- 
manded his  pass,  the  old  man  waved  him  aside  in  his 
most  Olympian  manner,  frowning  and  remarking,  "  San 
Jacinto  is  my  pass  through  Texas."  Small  wonder  that 
the  people  loved  him. 

He  had  such  a  sense  of  humor  and  the  dramatic  as  few 
men  have  ever  had.  He  was  one  of  the  best  campaigners 
among  thousands  of  brilliant  specimens  that  America  has 
ever  produced.  His  witty  and  epigrammatic  speech  is 
well  illustrated  by  the  following: 

A  former  friend  had  betrayed  him  and  when  the 
traitor's  character  was  assailed  on  account  of  his  ingrati- 
tude, Houston  remarked,  "  You  mustn't  be  too  hard  on 

S .  I  always  was  fond  of  dogs  and  S has  all  the 

virtues  of  a  dog  except  his  fidelity." 

This,  his  characterization  of  the  leader  of  a  certain 
cause,  is  one  of  those  brilliant  epigrams  in  which  the  very 
truth  of  history  is  enshrined :  "  Ambitious  as  Lucifer,  and 
cold  as  a  lizard." 

He  may  fairly  be  called  a  statesman,  he  most  certainly 
can  be  styled  an  orator,  and  a  little  verse  which  he  wrote 
to  a  relative  illustrates  that  he  was  not  deficient  in  the  arts 
and  graces,  and  is  worth  quoting : 

"  Remember  theef    Yes,  lovely  girl. 

While  faithful  memory  holds  its  seat, 
Till  this  warm  heart  in  dust  is  laid. 

And  this  wild  pulse  shall  cease  to  beat, 
No  matter  where  my  bark  is  tost 

On  life's  tempestuous,  stormy  sea, 
My  anchor  gone,  my  rudder  lost. 

Still,  cousin,  I  will  think  of  thee." 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      353 

Houston  did  everything  in  his  power  to  prevent  the 
secession  of  Texas  in  1861,  but  when  she  left  the  Union 
he  went  with  her.  We  can  understand  him,  Texas  was 
like  his  own  child.  He  died  in  reduced  circumstances  in 
1863,  his  last  years  embittered  by  the  too  evident  failure 
of  the  Confederacy  and  the  discords  which  tore  his  beloved 
country  in  twain.  But  the  world  is  familiar  with  the 
events  of  his  strange,  romantic  and  useful  career;  few  men 
have  been  so  written  about,  and  few  men  have  deserved 
it  more.  While  he  did  not  rise  to  the  solitary  height  to 
which  the  title  of  greatness  accrues,  yet  he  was  one  of  the 
most  eminent  men  of  his  time,  and  his  valuable  services 
are  held  in  undying  remembrance.  Pass  we  to  the  second 
great  day  of  his  life. 

II.     In  the  Service  of  the  Texan  Republic 

Aroused  at  last  by  the  pleadings  of  his  better  nature  he 
determined  to  abandon  the  loose,  aimless,  lazy,  drunken, 
savage  way  of  life  with  the  Cherokees  and  go  to  Texas. 
It  is  believed  that  he  went  there  at  the  instigation  of  Pres- 
ident Jackson,  whose  friendship  and  regard  for  him  never 
wavered.  A  man  of  such  prominence  could  not  fail  to 
attract  attention  in  a  country  like  Texas,  and  he  was 
presently  made  commander-in-chief  of  the  Texan  army. 
After  the  capture  of  the  Alamo  and  the  terrible  and  in- 
human massacre  at  Goliad,  Santa  Anna  deemed  that  the 
Texan  revolution  had  been  crushed  and  that  the  war  was 
practically  over.  He  intended  to  send  back  most  of  his 
troops  to  Mexico,  but  upon  the  urgent  representations  of 
some  of  his  generals  he  agreed  to  march  them  further 
eastward  and  complete  the  subjugation  of  the  country  be- 
fore he  did  so.  Houston  with  a  small  body  of  Texans, 


354       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

numbering  less  than  one  thousand,  was  encamped  at  the 
crossing  of  the  Colorado  River  near  Bastrop,  whither  he 
had  retired  from  Gonzales. 

It  is  probable  that,  in  the  light  of  subsequent  develop- 
ments, his  force  was  strong  enough  on  account  of  its 
quality  successfully  to  have  engaged  the  whole  Mexican 
army.  No  one  knew  or  believed  this  would  be  so  then. 
The  Mexicans  were  regular  soldiers,  trained  in  the  latest 
European  methods.  They  were  led  by  an  hitherto  suc- 
cessful commander  who  had  succeeded  in  every  battle. 
The  Texans  were  a  body  of  undrilled,  untrained  frontiers- 
men, armed  with  their  own  rifles  and  bowie  knives,  with 
no  artillery,  no  bayonets,  no  camp  equipage  to  speak  of. 
There  was  but  one  drum  in  the  whole  camp,  and  Hous- 
ton did  the  drumming  himself!  His  reveille  was  three 
taps  on  the  drum. 

The  problem  presented  itself  in  this  way.  If  the  Tex- 
ans moved  forward  to  attack  Santa  Anna  he  would  im- 
mediately concentrate  his  force  and  Houston  would  have 
to  engage  the  whole  Mexican  power  with  his  little  hand- 
ful of  men.  If,  on  the  contrary,  he  retreated,  the  prob- 
abilities were  that  Santa  Anna,  disdaining  the  little  Texan 
army,  especially  when  it  was  in  retreat,  would  divide  his 
force  in  order  to  seize  as  many  points  as  possible ;  when, 
if  Houston  watched  carefully,  he  might  find  an  oppor- 
tunity of  destroying  them  in  detail.  He  chose  the  latter, 
which  was  the  better  course. 

III.     "The  Runaway  Scrape" 

It  was  a  risky  plan,  and  the  risk  lay  in  this :  it  is  im- 
mensely difficult  to  hold  together  in  retreat  an  army 
which  has  but  little  organic  coherence  and  is  mainly  un- 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      355 

disciplined  and  irregular.  The  men  grumbled  at  being 
marched  back  to  the  eastward,  and  a  panic  immediately 
pervaded  the  country.  Everybody  sought  to  escape 
from  the  dreaded  Mexican  advance.  The  country  was 
depopulated,  and  this  precipitate  flight  of  the  inhabitants 
passed  into  history  as  "  The  Runaway  Scrape." 

It  was  not  without  hundreds  of  incidents,  tragic  and 
otherwise.  One  lone  woman  whose  husband  was  with 
the  army  strapped  a  feather-bed  on  her  solitary  pony,  tied 
her  three  oldest  children  on  it,  and  plodded  on  with  the 
baby  in  her  arms.  In  one  of  the  wagons,  an  open  one,  lay 
a  woman  with  a  nine-day-old  baby ;  the  mothers  of  Texas 
have  loved  to  tell  how,  one  rainy  night  in  the  wild  flight, 
they  stood  about  her  for  hours  with  blankets  held  over  her 
to  protect  her  from  the  storm. 

Houston  carefully  kept  his  disintegrating  army  between 
the  fugitives  and  the  Mexicans,  and  he  saw  that  all  the 
people  had  left  any  given  section  before  he  took  up  his 
daily  march.  On  one  occasion  he  gave  over  fifty  dollars 
from  the  military  treasure-chest,  which  only  contained 
two  hundred  and  fifty,  to  the  destitute  widow  of  a  de- 
fender of  the  Alamo. 

There  was  the  greatest  indignation  in  certain  quarters 
over  this  retreat  and  many  protests  were  made.  Hous- 
ton, however,  was  undeterred  by  this  opposition,  which 
even  went  so  far  as  to  question  his  courage,  and  steadily 
led  his  men  backward  over  the  prairie.  When  they 
reached  Brazos,  he  determined  upon  a  continuance  of  the 
retreat,  and  there  some  of  his  men  broke  out  in  open 
mutiny.  He  left  several  of  the  most  recalcitrant  com- 
panies to  protect  the  town  of  San  Felipe  de  Austin  at  the 
crossing  and  marched  northward  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
river. 


356         Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

On  the  part  of  the  Mexicans  it  happened  as  he  had  im- 
agined. Santa  Anna  had  concentrated  his  army  at  the 
Colorado  to  meet  the  Texans,  but  finding  that  Houston 
was  in  retreat,  he  had  divided  his  force  in  three  columns 
and  despatched  them  in  different  directions,  leading  the 
centre  column  himself,  to  raid  and  capture  Harrisburg. 
The  Texan  army  was  now  reduced  to  less  than  seven 
hundred  men.  The  retreat  was  conducted  under  circum- 
stances of  the  greatest  difficulty.  Up  the  valley  of  the 
Brazos,  over  the  rain-sodden  prairies,  the  men  toiled. 
Finally  some  distance  up  the  river,  at  a  place  called 
Groce's  Ferry,  they  found  a  little  steamer  called  the 
Yellowstone,  which  they  seized  and  by  means  of  it  crossed 
the  river. 

Santa  Anna,  advancing  with  imperious  energy,  ap- 
peared in  force  before  the  Austin  defenders,  who  set  fire 
to  the  town  and  promptly  did  a  little  retreating  on  their 
own  account.  The  Mexicans,  by  a  ruse,  inveigled  a  fer- 
ryman from  the  other  side  and  crossed  the  Brazos,  where- 
after Santa  Anna,  taking  no  account  of  Houston  to  the 
northward,  pushed  on  to  Harrisburg  at  the  head  of  the 
centre  column. 

Meanwhile  Houston  had  been  re-enforced  by  a  small 
body  of  men,  two  cannon,  six-pounders,  called  the  "  Twin 
Sisters,"  sent  by  the  citizens  of  Cincinnati,  via  Harrisburg, 
and  the  Secretary  of  War.  The  President  at  Harrisburg, 
apprised  of  Santa  Anna's  rapid  advance,  barely  escaped 
before  he  reached  the  town.  Despatching  one  of  his  regi- 
ments to  the  gulf  shore  to  head  off  the  President  and  his 
Cabinet,  who  were  fleeing  to  Galveston,  Santa  Anna 
marched  on  toward  Washington.  Houston,  however, 
was  marching  toward  the  same  town.  The  mutinous 
Texan  companies,  persuaded  this  time  of  the  wisdom  of 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      357 

their  general,  came  rushing  back  and  raised  his  force  to 
about  seven  hundred  and  fifty  men. 

IV.     Santa  Anna  is  Trapped 

Santa  Anna  was  in  the  heart  of  Texas  with  a  force  not 
too  great  for  the  Texans  to  meet  with  hopes  of  success 
and  with  no  possibility  of  re-enforcement.  Houston's 
strategy  had  proven  his  wisdom,  and  he  now  prepared  to 
attack  the  unsuspecting  Mexican.  The  forced  march  to 
catch  him  was  a  terrible  one  even  to  these  men  inured 
to  all  the  vicissitudes  of  frontier  life.  The  rains  still  con- 
tinued, and  it  was  with  the  utmost  difficulty  that  the 
baggage  wagons  and  artillery  could  be  transported. 
Houston  himself  set  an  example  to  his  soldiers.  Dis- 
mounting from  his  horse  he  put  his  own  shoulder  to  the 
wheel,  encouraging  them  in  every  way,  telling  them  that 
the  opportunity  they  had  craved  was  at  last  at  hand,  mak- 
ing no  secret  of  his  hope  to  strike  a  blow  which  would  be 
decisive  and  result  in  the  freedom  of  the  Republic.  On 
the  1 8th  of  April,  1836,  the  army  reached  Buffalo  Bayou, 
then  swollen  bank  full  and  unfordable,  opposite  the  ruins 
of  Harrisburg,  which  Santa  Anna  had  destroyed. 

A  celebrated  scout  named  Deaf  Smith  with  Captain 
Karnes  of  the  regular  cavalry  met  them  here  with  a  bag 
full  of  captured  despatches  which  confirmed  the  fact  that 
Santa  Anna  was  with  the  force  which  had  burned  Harris- 
burg  and  was  marching  to  New  Washington.  Houston 
was  overjoyed  at  the  possibility  thus  of  capturing  the 
Mexican  commander-in-chief.  With  him  in  his  posses- 
sion he  would  be  able  to  dictate  terms  of  peace.  Leaving 
his  baggage  wagons  with  a  guard  of  thirty  men  he  pre- 
pared to  cross  the  bayou,  taking  with  him  the  two  cannon 
and  a  single  ammunition  wagon.  They  found  a  leaky 


358       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

boat,  and  upon  this  and  a  rude  timber  raft  they  succeeded 
in  ferrying  over  the  army. 

Houston  remained  on  one  bank  while  the  long  tedious 
passage  was  being  made,  and  Rusk,  the  Texan  Secretary 
of  War,  remained  on  the  other.  Only  by  the  greatest  dif- 
ficulty was  the  crossing  finally  effected.  The  cavalry 
horses  indeed  had  to  swim  the  bayou.  By  nightfall,  how- 
ever, they  were  all  over  and  on  the  march  toward  the 
junction  of  Buffalo  Bayou  with  the  San  Jacinto  River,  at 
a  place  called  Lynch's  Ferry,  where  they  hoped  to  head 
off  the  Mexicans,  who  were  supposed  to  be  marching 
toward  La  Trinidad. 

The  tired  army  marched  twelve  miles  that  night,  stop- 
ping for  rest  at  one  A.  M.  on  the  2Oth.  Houston  allowed 
his  soldiers  but  a  few  hours  for  repose,  for  before  dawn 
they  started  again  and  marched  seven  miles.  A  halt  was 
taken  for  breakfast,  but,  upon  receipt  of  intelligence  that 
the  Mexican  army  was  at  hand  they  left  off  preparations 
for  the  meal  and  marched  post-haste  to  the  ferry,  across 
San  Jacinto  Bay,  a  little  below  the  point  where  the  Buf- 
falo joins  the  river. 

They  reached  the  coveted  point  before  the  Mexicans, 
for  no  sign  of  the  invaders  were  found.  Six  men  under 
Captain  Hancock,  however,  had  made  a  valuable  capture 
of  a  flat  boat  loaded  with  flour  and  filled  with  Mexicans, 
who  surrendered  without  firing  a  shot.  That  cargo  was 
intended  for  Santa  Anna's  army,  which,  in  ignorance  of 
the  proximity  of  the  Americans,  had  been  marching  for 
the  same  spot.  It  was  a  most  welcome  contribution  to 
the  American  commissariat,  for  they  were  almost  literally 
without  anything  to  eat.* 

*  There  is  a  legend  to  the  effect  that  after  the  battle  Houston  exhibited 
an  ear  of  corn  to  Santa  Anna  with  the  question:    "Sir,  do  you  ever  expect 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      359 

Confident  that  the  Mexicans  were  moving  into  the  trap, 
they  now  turned  back  up  the  Buffalo  for  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile,  where  Houston  posted  his  army  in  a 
strong  defensive  position  in  a  thick  wood  on  the  edge  of 
the  bayou.  In  front  of  the  camp  lay  a  stretch  of  prairie 
land  broken  by  three  large  clumps  of  trees,  known  as 
islands.  On  the  left  was  the  broad  arm  of  San  Jacinto 
Bay,  the  enclosing  marshy  shores  of  which  swept  around 
to  the  south  in  front  of  them  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  away. 
The  marsh  grew  wider  as  it  trended  to  the  southwest. 
Beyond  the  tree  islands  lay  another  clump  of  trees  termi- 
nating in  the  marshland.  The  country  to  the  southwest 
was  also  marshy  and  impassable.  The  road  up  which 
they  had  marched  to  their  position  led  across  a  deep  ra- 
vine with  very  high  banks  called  Vince's  Creek.  The 
road  crossed  this  creek  on  a  wooden  bridge  about  eight 
miles  from  the  battle-ground. 

Santa  Anna  with  some  twelve  hundred  of  his  men  was 
in  New  Washington  when  his  scouts  brought  word  that 
the  American  forces  were  at  hand.  A  scene  of  wild  con- 
fusion and  terror  ensued,  a  panic  in  fact,  extending  from 
the  general  to  the  soldiery;  but  as  the  day  wore  on  and  no 
attack  was  made  the  Mexicans  recovered  their  self-con- 
trol in  a  measure,  and  order  having  been  restored,  they 
marched  toward  Lynch's  Ferry  to  meet  the  enemy.  The 
Mexican  advance  came  in  touch  with  the  Texans  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  2Oth.  Santa  Anna's  artillery  consisted 
of  one  nine-pounder.  There  was  a  fruitless  duel  between 
this  gun  and  the  "  Twin  Sisters,"  and  some  cavalry  skir- 

to  conquer  men  who  fight  for  freedom,  whose  general  can  march  four  days 
with  one  ear  of  corn  for  rations  ?  "  The  story  goes  on  to  say  that  the  men 
begged  the  ear  from  the  general,  divided  its  kernels,  planted  them,  and  that 
Texas  is  full  of  San  Jacinto  corn  to  this  day ! 


360       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

mishing,  which  was  not  unimportant,  in  that  it  gave  one 
Mirabeau  B.  Lamar,  one  of  the  romantic  characters  of  the 
period,  an  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself  under  fire 
by  the  rescue  of  a  comrade  in  circumstances  of  peculiar 
danger ;  as  a  reward  for  which,  he  was  immediately  pror 
moted  to  the  rank  of  colonel  by  Houston  and  given  com- 
mand of  the  sixty  horse  which  comprised  the  Texan 
cavalry ! 

Aside  from  this  skirmish  no  attempt  was  made  by  either 
army  to  bring  on  a  general  engagement  that  day.  Hous- 
ton had  his  own  reasons  for  not  wishing  to  fight  and 
Santa  Anna  desired  time  to  bring  up  a  re-enforcement  of 
five  hundred  men  which  was  near  at  hand.  Houston  is  re- 
ported to  have  said  that  his  reason  for  not  engaging  was 
that  he  wanted  the  Mexicans  to  bring  their  whole  availa- 
ble force  in  the  vicinity  to  the  field  that  he  might  over- 
come the  enemy  with  one  blow  and  not  be  compelled  to 
make  "  two  bites  at  a  cherry."  At  any  rate  Santa  Anna 
encamped  in  the  woods  to  the  south  of  the  Texans,  his 
right  resting  on  the  marshes  which  extended  around  his 
rear  from  San  Jacinto  Bay.  He  refused  his  left  slightly 
and  protected  his  front  by  making  a  flimsy  entrenchment 
of  pack  saddles,  baggage,  etc.,  about  five  feet  high,  in  the 
centre  of  which  in  an  opening  he  planted  his  nine-pound- 
er. His  cavalry,  several  hundred  in  number,  he  posted 
on  the  right. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2ist  of  April,  1836,  five  hun- 
dred men  under  General  Cos  marched  up  the  road  from 
Vince's  bridge  and  joined  Santa  Anna.  Houston  gave 
out  that  it  was  not  a  real  re-enforcement  but  merely  part 
of  the  army  already  encamped,  marching  about  to  give  the 
impression  of  an  augmented  force,  but  the  statement 
deceived  no  one.  Neither  did  it  diminish  the  con- 


362       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

fident  courage  of  the  Texans  in  the  slightest  de- 
gree. 

Houston  had  fully  decided  upon  his  course  of  action. 
He  called  Deaf  Smith  to  him  and  bade  him  and  a  compan- 
ion named  Reeves  procure  two  sharp  axes  and  hold  them- 
selves in  readiness  for  orders,  directing  them  to  keep  with- 
in close  touch  during  the  day.  The  Texans  waited  under 
arms  thinking  the  Mexicans  in  greater  force,  in  fact  out- 
numbering them  over  two  to  one,  would  attack  them. 
But  Santa  Anna  made  no  movement  to  advance  and  at 
the  request  of  some  of  the  higher  officers  Houston  called 
a  council  of  war  at  noon,  the  question  being  whether  they 
should  make,  or  wait,  an  attack.  The  two  junior  officers 
were  in  favor  of  attacking  at  once.  All  of  the  seniors 
said  that  it  would  be  madness  to  attack  regular  and  vet- 
eran soldiery  with  undrilled  levies,  pointing  out  that  there 
were  but  two  hundred  bayonets  in  the  Texan  army,  that 
they  had  a  good  strong  defensive  position  where  they 
were,  and  they  ought  to  wait  for  the  Mexicans  there. 

Houston  heard  the  discussion  and  received  the  conclu- 
sions in  silence.  He  had  already  made  up  his  mind,  how- 
ever, for  he  called  Smith  and  Reeves  to  him  and  secretly 
ordered  them  to  go  with  all  speed  and  cut  down  Vince's 
bridge.  In  other  words,  he  deliberately  destroyed  the 
only  practicable  means  of  escape  for  either  army  in  case 
of  defeat.  By  his  action  the  battle  which  ensued  was  lit- 
erally fought  in  an  enclosure  made  by  Buffalo  Bayou  on 
the  north,  San  Jacinto  Bay  on  the  east,  the  marshes  and 
waste  land  on  the  south,  and  Vince's  Creek  on  the  west. 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      363 


V.     The  Battle  of  San  Jacinto 

At  half  after  three  o'clock  the  men  were  drawn  up  on 
the  prairie  in  front  of  the  camp,  their  movements  being 
screened  from  the  observation  of  the  Mexicans,  who  were 
most  careless  on  this  occasion  and  had  apparently  posted 
neither  scouts  nor  sentinels,  by  the  tree  islands.  Colonel 
Burleson  with  the  first  regiment  occupied  the  centre. 
Colonel  Sherman  was  on  the  left  with  the  second  regi- 
ment, with  the  two  pieces  of  artillery  posted  on  the  right 
of  Colonel  Burleson's  men.  The  guns  were  supported  by 
four  companies  of  infantry  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Mil- 
lard.  The  newly  celebrated  Lamar,  burning  to  distin- 
guish himself  again,  occupied  the  right  of  the  line  with  his 
cavalry.  Secretary  Rusk  had  general  command  of  the 
left,  while  Houston  led  the  centre  in  person. 

At  four  o'clock  Houston  gave  the  order  to  advance. 
The  band,  which  consisted  of  the  solitary  drum  of  famous 
memory,  re-enforced  by  a  single  fife,  struck  up  a  familiar 
popular  air  entitled  "  Will  You  Come  to  the  Bower  ?  " 
It  was  a  bright,  brilliant,  sunny  afternoon.  The  men  with 
their  guns  a-trail  advanced  slowly  until  they  passed  the 
timber  islands  and  appeared  in  view  of  the  surprised  Mex- 
icans. Then  they  broke  into  a  run  and  darted  forward. 
Houston  dashed  up  and  down  the  lines  on  horseback, 
waving  his  old  white  hat  *  and  shouting  profanely  but 
emphatically,  "  G — d  d — n  you,  hold  your  fire !  " 

When  they  were  within  two  hundred  feet  of  the  Mexi- 

*  On  this  day  Houston  wore  "an  old  black  coat,  a  black  velvet  vest,  a 
pair  of  snuff-colored  pantaloons,  and  dilapidated  boots,"  with  his  trousers 
tucked  in  them.  "  His  only  badge  of  authority  during  the  campaign  was  a 
sword  with  a  plated  scabbard  which  he  tied  to  his  belt  with  buckskin  thongs." 


364       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

can  line  Deaf  Smith  tore  madly  on  the  field,  his  panting 
horse  flecked  with  foam,  and  shouted  in  tones  that  could 
be  heard  all  along  the  little  line :  "  You  must  fight  for 
your  lives !  Vince's  bridge  has  been  cut  down !  "  The 
purport  of  this  startling  message  was  instantly  perceived 
by  the  Texans.  Like  Cortez,  Houston  had  burned  his 
boats  behind  him.  If  they  did  not  conquer,  they  would 
be  like  the  army  of  Sennacherib,  "  all  dead  corpses." 

The  Mexican  camp  was  a  picture  of  consternation  and 
terror.  They  had  never  dreamed  of  the  possibility  of  as- 
sault. Santa  Anna  was  asleep,  many  of  the  officers  were 
taking  their  afternoon  siesta;  the  cavalrymen  were  water- 
ing their  horses,  the  company  cooks  were  preparing  for 
the  evening  meal,  the  soldiers  had  laid  aside  their  arms 
and  were  playing  games.  In  great  astonishment,  as  they 
discovered  the  Texans  passing  around  the  tree  islands, 
they  ran  to  their  arms,  and  as  Houston's  men  came  on, 
the  Mexicans  delivered  a  wavering  volley,  which,  being 
aimed  too  high,  did  almost  no  execution.  One  bullet 
struck  Houston  in  the  ankle,  making  a  bad  wound,  and 
several  others  hit  his  horse,  but  nothing  could  stop  the 
advance.  Before  the  Mexicans  could  discharge  their 
cannon — it  was  found  loaded  when  captured — the  Amer- 
icans struck  the  place. 

Quick  as  had  been  their  advance  the  "  Twin  Sisters  " 
had  been  able  to  deliver  two  well-aimed  shots  which  had 
demolished  a  large  portion  of  the  flimsy  barricade.  As 
they  reached  the  rampart  the  Texans  fired  pointblank  at 
the  huddled  Mexicans.  The  discharge  did  fearful  execu- 
tion. Before  the  Spanish  could  turn  and  fly,  the  fierce, 
furious  faces  of  the  Americans  burst  upon  them  through 
the  smoke,  and  with  clubbed  muskets,  a  few  bayonets,  and 
many  bowie  knives,  began  their  dreadful  work.  The  cry 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      365 

that  ran  over  the  field  with  ever-increasing  volume  until 
it  drowned  the  roar  of  the  guns,  had  been  one  filled  with 
menace  to  Santa  Anna  and  his  men. 

"Remember  the  Alamo!  Remember  Goliad!  Re- 
member La  Bahia !  " 

Inspired  to  fury  by  the  recollection  of  the  cruel,  blood- 
thirsty massacres,  which  Santa  Anna  had  instigated  and 
in  which  these  men  had  participated,  the  Americans  swept 
everything  before  them  by  their  valor.  In  fifteen  min- 
utes the  whole  Mexican  army  was  either  dead  or  on  the 
run.  Lamar,  with  his  handful  of  horse,  had  thrown  him- 
self upon  the  Mexican  cavalry  and  routed  them.  Horse- 
men who  could  do  so  were  galloping  headlong  down  the 
road  toward  Vince's  bridge  pursued  by  the  mounted 
Americans.  The  infantry  and  many  officers  on  the  Mexi- 
can right  plunged  into  the  marshes,  vainly  seeking  safety, 
only  to  be  slaughtered  as  they  stood  enmired. 

The  Mexican  defence,  however,  was  not  without  some 
redeeming  features.  General  Castrillon  coolly  stood  in 
plain  view  of  the  Americans  on  an  ammunition  box,  vain- 
ly imploring  his  flying  men  to  make  a  stand.  When  they 
had  retreated  at  least  fifty  yards  from  him,  in  despair  of 
rallying  them,  he  turned  to  follow  and  was  shot  down  by 
the  enemy,  several  bullets  being  found  in  his  body  after 
the  engagement  was  over.  Colonel  Almonte  succeeded 
in  rallying  some  five  hundred  men  in  the  trees,  but  was 
unable  to  inspire  them  with  any  energy,  so  he  surrendered 
them  in  a  body. 

Santa  Anna  with  some  others  fled  at  top  speed  toward 
Vince's  bridge,  hotly  pursued  by  Captain  Karnes.  When 
the  fugitives  reached  the  crossing  and  found  it  destroyed 
they  faced  about,  but  the  pursuing  Texans  slaughtered 
them  without  mercy.  A  few,  however,  Santa  Anna 


366       Border  Fights  and  Fighters 

among  the  number,  leaped  recklessly  into  the  ravine  and 
managed  to  make  good  their  escape  on  the  other  side. 

The  Mexican  army  had  been  completely  routed.  As 
an  army  it  had  been  eliminated  from  the  campaign.  Six 
hundred  and  thirty  dead  bodies  were  left  on  the  field,  of 
whom  twenty-four  were  officers.  Two  hundred  and  eight 
lay  wounded  and  helpless,  of  whom  eighteen  were  offi- 
cers. There  were  seven  hundred  and  thirty  prisoners,  a 
few  fugitives,  and  many  unknown  and  unaccounted  for, 
who  died  in  the  marshes  or  rivers  attempting  to  escape. 
The  total  Mexican  force  engaged  had  been  about  eigh- 
teen hundred.  Of  Texans  there  were  just  seven  hundred 
and  eighty-three,  of  whom  eight  were  killed  and  twenty- 
three  wounded!  It  was  one  of  the  most  crushing  and 
bloody  defeats  on  record. 

Though  the  numbers  engaged  were  small  the  results 
were  remarkable,  for  Santa  Anna  was  captured  next  day 
by  a  party  of  Texans,  and  with  him  in  possession  the  war 
was  over,  and  the  independence  of  Texas  accomplished. 

Besides  the  arms  and  equipments  twelve  thousand  dol- 
lars in  specie  was  found  in  the  Mexican  treasure-chest. 
Houston  generously  gave  up  his  share  of  plunder  to 
his  soldiers.  Having  set  aside  a  portion  for  the  Texan 
Navy,  the  men  received  on  an  average  about  seven  dollars 
and  a  half  apiece,  but  no  reward  could  have  measured  up 
to  the  standard  of  their  splendid  victory;  and  the  Field  of 
the  Hyacinth,  changed  from  purple  to  red  by  the  blood  of 
their  enemies,  in  Thomas  H.  Benton's  poetic  figure,  is  as- 
sociated with  the  brightest  day  in  the  story  of  the  Lone 
Star  Republic,  which  then  took  its  place  in  the  constel- 
lation of  nations. 

Houston  had  again  led  the  charge  as  he  had  done  years 
before,  and  he  was  the  hero  of  the  occasion,  although,  as 


Sam  Houston  and  Freedom      367 

he  said  himself,  the  "  glorious  achievement  was  at- 
tributable not  to  superior  force  but  to  the  valor  of  our 
soldiery  and  the  sanctity  of  our  cause."  Certainly  I  think 
San  Jacinto  must  be  placed  high  among  the  memorable 
conflicts  and  struggles  that  have  occurred  during  the 
evolution  of  the  American  people,  for  it  terminated  for- 
ever any  possibility  of  Spanish  dominion  in  what  is  now 
one  of  the  greatest  and  most  important  parts  of  the 
United  States.  From  that  point  it  is  one  of  the  most 
decisive  of  our  battles. 

Old  Sam  Houston  had  not  read  Caesar's  Commenta- 
ries for  nothing.  His  masterly  retreat  from  the  enemy 
inducing  him  to  divide  his  force,  when  the  composition  of 
the  army  is  considered,  was  a  splendid  manoeuvre.  He 
showed  that  he  knew  how  to  carry  the  shield  of  Fabius; 
and  when  he  learned  that  Santa  Anna  was  alone,  with  a 
part  of  his  force  at  Harrisburg,  his  forced  march  to  cor- 
ner him  and  the  brilliant,  workmanlike  manner  in  which 
he  planned  and  fought  the  battle,  his  daring  in  staking  all 
upon  the  hazard  by  destroying  his  only  means  of  retreat, 
showed  that  he  wielded  the  sword  of  Marcellus  as  well. 

While  he  had  no  opportunity  to  distinguish  himself  on 
larger  fields  and  with  greater  force,  yet  he  made  the  very 
best  possible  use  of,  and  secured  the  greatest  possible  re- 
sults from,  the  means  at  his  command.  No  one  could 
have  done  better,  few  could  have  done  so  well.  There- 
fore we  may  write  him  down  a  soldier. 

No  monument  has  yet  been  erected  by  grateful  Tex- 
ans  over  his  remains,  but  the  state  itself,  empire  as  it  is 
in  extent,  in  resources,  is  forever  associated  with  his 
name. 

THE  END. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


A~)AIR,  JOHN,  assists 
Sevier  and  Shelby  with 
North  Carolina  funds, 
78 

Alamo,  the  Mission  del,  314- 
316;  meaning  of  the  word, 
314;  description  of  mission 
buildings,  315;  siege  of,  319 

Amathla,  Charlie,  Seminole 
ch>ef,  195 

American,  racial  type  of,  vii 

Arbuckle,  Capt.  Matthew,  ar- 
rests Cornstalk,  58 

Army  of  the  West,  the,  271- 
274 

Artaguiette,  d',  defeated  by 
Natchez  and  Chickasaw  Ind- 
ians, 212 

Austin,  Stephen  Fuller,  "  The 
Father  of  Texas,"  plants  first 
American  colony  in  Texas, 
312 


"  PACK  WATER  MEN,"  74 
Baen,  Major,  killed,  259 

Bahia,   La,  mission  of,  329 

Bailey,  Dixon,  elected  captain 
at  Fort  Mims,  170;  heroic 
conduct  of,  174;  death  of,  176 

Bartholomew,  Col.,  wounded 
at  Tippecanoe,  261 

Bassinger,  Lieut.,  198,  201; 
heroic  conduct  of,  202;  butch- 
ered by  negroes,  203 

Batcheldor,    Capt.,   170 

Battle  of  Bushy  Run,  13-16;  of 


Point  Pleasant,  48-55;  of 
King's  Mountain,  85-88;  of 
Enaree,  95 ;  of  Blue  Licks, 
140-145;  of  Tohopeka,  177; 
of  Burnt  Corn,  193 ;  of  the 
Thames,  248;  of  Fallen  Tim- 
bers, 249;  of  Frenchtown,  280- 
286;  of  Concepcion,  314;  of 
the  Coleta,  334-338;  of  San 
Jacinto,  363-368 

Batts,  Capt.  Thomas,  Virgin- 
ian explorer,  115 

Beasley,  Major  Daniel,  at  Fort 
Mims,  170;  careless  conduct 
of,  171-172;  death  of,  174 

Beattie's  Ford,  81 

Bedford,  Pa.,  fugitives  at,  6; 
relief  of,  9 

Bellerive,  Louis  St.  Ange  de, 
Governor  of  Vincennes,  Ind., 

212 

Bennett's  Creek,  255 

"  Betsy,"       David       Crockett's 

rifle,  309 
"  Big  Knives,"  Kentuckians  so 

called,  222 
Big    Turtle,     Indian    name    of 

Daniel  Boone,    132 
Black     Fish,     Shawnee     Chief, 

adopts     Daniel    Boone,     132; 

attacks   Boonesborough,    134 
Bloody     Spring,     massacre     of 

Indians   at,   by   Capt.   Samuel 

Brady,  28-32 
Bloody  Year,  the,  36 
Blue  Licks,  131,  140 
Bonham,     Col.     James     Butler, 

Texan  volunteer,  319;   killed, 

324 
Boone  bibliography,    116 


Index 


Boone,  Daniel,  commands 
three  frontier  forts,  48; 
words  of,  on  surveying  the 
country,  66;  the  greatest  of 
the  pioneers,  113-147;  birth 
of,  116;  family  of,  116-117; 
handwriting  of,  118;  mar- 
riage of,  118;  captured  by  Ind- 
ians, 119,  130-132;  slaughter 
of  his  family  by  Indians,  123; 
removes  to  Clinch  River, 
Va.,  123;  commissioned  cap- 
tain in  the  British  service, 
123;  returns  to  Kentucky, 
124;  fac-simile  letter  of,  to 
Gen.  Shelby,  124;  named  Big 
Turtle  by  Black  Fish,  Indian 
chief,  132;  attacks  Indians  on 
Scioto  River,  134;  court- 
martialled,  138;  promoted 
lieutenant-colonel,  138 ;  aban- 
dons his  first  land  claim,  139 ; 
advice  at  Blue  Licks,  141-142; 
at  Battle  of  Blue  Licks,  143; 
his  two  sons  killed,  145 ;  dis- 
possessed of  his  second  land 
claim,  146;  removes  to  Mis- 
souri, 146;  his  wife  dies,  146; 
dispossessed  of  his  third  land 
claim,  147;  Congress  grants 
him  a  tract  of  land,  147; 
death  of,  147;  buried  in  Ken- 
tucky, 147 

Boone,  Edward,  killed  by  Ind- 
ians, 131 

Boone,  Frances,  captured  by 
Indians,  128 

Boone,  Isaac,  death  of,  144 

Boone,  Jemima,  captured  by 
Indians,  128 

Boone,  Squire,  brother  of  Dan- 
iel, 120;  severely  wounded  by 
Indians,  137 

Boonesborough,  erection  of, 
125;  plan  of,  126;  attacked  by 
Indians,  127,  128,  131,  133;  de- 
fence of,  134-138 

Boone's  Creek,  115 

Boone's  Station,  139 

Borderers,  Capt.  Samuel 
Brady,  first  of  the,  27-28 


Bouquet,  Henry,  how  he  saved 
Pennsylvania,  3-20;  sketch  of, 
7-8;  death  of,  19 

Bowie,  Col.  James,  of  Georgia, 
second  in  command  of  the 
Alamo,  316;  killed,  324 

Boy  in  command  of  other  boys. 
291-295 

Boyd,  Col.  John  P.,  commands 
Fourth  U.  S.  Infantry  at  Vin- 
cennes,  252;  sketch  of  his  life, 
252 

Brady,  Hugh,  Major-Gen.  U. 
S.  Army,  sketch  of,  25,  40 

Brady,  Capt.  John,  vii,  23 

Brady,  Capt.  Samuel,  Chief  of 
the  Rangers,  sketch  of,  vii,  23- 
40;  enlisted,  26;  brevetted 
captain,  26;  escaped  from 
British,  26;  ordered  to  West- 
ern Pennsylvania,  27;  com- 
mended to  Washington  by 
Col.  Brodhead,  27;  commend- 
ed by  Washington,  27 ;  given 
command  under  Gen.  Wayne, 
28;  death  of,  28;  adventure 
of,  at  Bloody  Spring,  28-33; 
famous  leap  of,  33-36;  expe- 
dition of,  with  Wetzel,  36-40 

Brady,  William,  in  Battle  of 
Lake  Erie,  26 

Brady's   Run,  30 

Brandt,     Joseph,     Indian    chief, 

243 

Brazos,  Valley  of,  Houston's 
retreat  up  the,  355-356 

Brodhead,  Col.,  commissioned 
by  Washington  to  protect 
Pennsylvania  against  Indian 
incursions,  24 

Bryan's  Station,  Ky.,  attacked 
by  Indians,  139;  founding  of, 
153;  an  old-time  frontier  fort, 
153-155;  the  women  and  chil- 
dren of,  151-164 

Buffalo  Bayou,  Texas,  357-358 

Burnt  Corn,  Battle  of,  169,  193 

Bushy  Run,  engagement  at,  10- 
16;  battle  of,  13-16 

Byrd,  Col.  William,  a  Virgin- 
ian Tory  leader,  154 


Index 


373 


,  Indian  chief,  re- 
ceives Americans  friendly, 
222 

Callaway,  Col.,  companion  of 
Daniel  Boone,  128 

Callaway,  Elizabeth,  captured 
by  Indians,  128;  marries  son 
of  Col.  Henderson,  129-130 

Camp  Charlotte,  Indian  treaty 
of,  56 

Camp  Union,  47 

Campbell,  William,  assists  Se- 
vier  and  Shelby  in  expedition, 
76-77,  80 

Canadians  attack  Bryan's  Sta- 
tion, Ky.,  140 

"  Captina  Affair,"  the,  45 

Carleton,  Governor  of  Quebec, 
224 

Carlisle,  Pa.,  fugitives  at,  6;  re- 
lief of,  9 

Chambers,   British   Major,   288 

Cherokee  Ford,  84 

Chickasaw  Indians,  212 

Christian,  Col.  William,  leads 
settlers  of  Fincastle  County 
against  Logan,  47,  49,  54 

Chronicle,  Major,  89 

"  Chucky  Jack,"  70 

Claiborne,  Gen.,  U.  S.  military 
commander,  170 

Clark,  George  Rogers,  in  com- 
mand under  Lord  Dunmore, 
47 ;  Daniel  Boone  accompanies 
in  expedition  after  Battle  of 
Blue  Licks,  145-146;  in  the 
Great  Northwest,  211-241; 
sketch  of,  213-214;  on  Lord 
Dunmore's  staff,  214;  peti- 
tions Gov.  Patrick  Henry  for 
500  pounds  of  powder,  215  ;  his 
attempt  to  stop  Indian  forays, 
217;  confers  with  Gov.  Patrick 
Henry,  218;  his  plan,  218-219; 
surprises  a  dancing  party,  221 ; 
his  methods  of  dealing  with 
Indians,  223 ;  a  great  bluffer, 
225 ;  arranges  Virginia  cur- 
rency, 227 ;  marches  to  Wa- 


bash,  229-231 ;  captures  Vin- 
cennes,  234-238;  his  services, 
239;  disappointment  and  neg- 
lect, 239;  his  death,  240. 

Clark,  Ransom,  terrible  expe- 
rience at  Dade  massacre, 
203;  pitiable  condition  and 
death  of,  204 

Cleaveland,  Col.  Benjamin,  of 
North  Carolina,  76-77,  79; 
speech  of,  to  mountaineers, 
80,  88-89 

Clinch,  U.  S.  Commander-in- 
Chief  in  Florida,  198 

Coffee,  Gen.,  defeats  Creek 
Indians  on  the  Tallapoosa 
River,  181,  184-186 

Coleta,  Battle  of  the,  334-338 

Concepcion,  Battle  of,  314 

Corn  Island,  219 

Cornstalk,  Indian  chief,  in  com- 
mand of  Indians  at  Battle 
of  Point  Pleasant,  50,  53;  op- 
poses treaty  with  Lord  Dun- 
more,  55;  fate  of,  58;  death 
of,  59 

Cornwallis,  Lord,  in  South 
Carolina,  73-74;  falls  back,  93 

Cowpens,  81 ;  muster  of  Lacey's 
army  at,  82 

Craig,  Capt.  John,  in  command 
of  Bryan's  Station,  155;  suc- 
cessful defence  of,  156 

Creek  Indians,  sketch  of,  168; 
join  the  British  in  War  of 
1812,  168;  the  last  stand  of 
the,  181-186;  defeated  by  Cof- 
fee and  Jackson,  181-190 

Creek  War,  the  beginning  of 
the,  167-171 

Creole  militia,  220 

Creoles  in  Geo.  Rogers  Clark's 
march,  229 

Cresap,  Col.,  Logan's  famous 
speech  against,  56-57 

Cresap's  War,  45 

Crockett,  David,  and  the  most 
desperate  defence  in  Ameri- 
can history,  307-326;  a  typi- 
cal American,  307-311;  a 
modest  man,  308;  sketch  of 


374 


Index 


early  life,  309-311;  takes  rein- 
forcements to  Texas,  316; 
killed  in  the  Alamo,  325 

Croghan,  George,  joins  Harri- 
son against  Tecumseh,  202; 
his  defence  of  Fort  Stephen- 
son,  291-304;  promoted  major 
of  I7th  Infantry,  293;  his  re- 
markable note  to  Gen.  Har- 
rison, 296;  brevetted  lieuten- 
ant-colonel, 304 

Croghan,  Mrs.,  sister  to  Geo. 
Rogers  Clark,  240 

Crooked  Creek,  54 

Cumberland  River,  explored  by 
Dr.  Thomas  Walker,  115 


D 

f)ADE,  MAJOR  FRANCIS 
L.,  massacre  of,  and  his 
command,  198-202;  discovery 
of  his  body  by  Capt.  Hitch- 
cock, 206';  monument  and  in- 
scription to,  at  West  Point, 
207 

Dade  Massacre,  197-202;  Capt. 
E.  A.  Hitchcock's  report  on, 
204-207 

Daviess,  Major  Jo,  joins  Harri- 
son against  Tecumseh,  252; 
ambitious  of  distinction,  253; 
his  impatience  to  attack,  260; 
death  and  burial  of,  260,  263 

Deaf  Smith,  celebrated  scout, 
357,  362,  364 

Decker,  Lieut-Col.,  wounded 
at  Tippecanoe,  261 

Deckhard  rifle,  the,  77 

De  Peyster,  Capt.,  of  New 
York,  85;  raises  flag  of  truce 
at  King's  Mountain,  90-91 

De  Quindre,  Dagniaux,  with 
Indians  attacks  Boonesbor- 
pugh,  134 

Dixen,  Capt.,  Royal  Engineers, 
298,  302;  wounded,  302 

Doak,   Presbyterian   Parson,  79 

Dragging  Canoe,  Chickamauga 
chief,  killed  by  John  Sevier, 


71;  on  the  gloom  of  Ken- 
tucky, 119 

Dunmore,  Lord,  Governor  of 
Virginia,  calls  out  Blue 
Ridge  Militia,  46;  feeling  of 
Virginians  against,  55;  ex- 
pelled from  Virginia  by  Gen. 
Andrew  Lewis,  58 

Dunmore's,   Lord,  War,  45 

Duque,  Col.,  attacks  the  Al- 
amo, 321;  wounded,  323 

Du  Quesne,  see  De  Quindre, 
Dagniaux 


pLKSWATAWA  (the  proph- 

et),    Indian    chief,    247;    his 

abandoned  early  life,  247;  has 

charge  of  affairs   during  Te- 

cumseh's  absence,  251 

Ellinipsico,  son  of  Cornstalk, 
killed,  59 

Elliott,  British  Col.,  demands 
surrender  of  Fort  Meigs,  288 

Embarrass  River,  Geo.  Rogers 
Clark  on  the,  231 

Enaree,  Battle  of,  95 

England,  by  treaty,  obtains 
possession  of  the  country 
from  the  Great  Lakes  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  213 

Everglades,  Florida,  inacces- 
sible character  of,  197 


T7ALLEN  TIMBERS,  Battle 
of,  249 

Fannin,  Col.  J.  W.,  massacre  of 
his  command  at  Goliad,  329- 
330;  surrounded  by  Mexicans 
at  the  Coleta,  334;  shot,  343 

Ferguson,  Major  Patrick,  47; 
distinguished  conduct  of,  at 
Battle  of  the  Brandywine  and 
at  Camden,  71 ;  commands  in 
South  Carolina,  73;  reverses 
and  successes  of,  74-76;  dash 


Index 


375 


to  catch  him,  79-82;  killed 
at  King's  Mountain,  91;  orig- 
inal account  of  his  capture  by 
Rev.  Stephen  Foster,  95-109 

Field,  Col.  John,  leads  a  volun- 
teer company  against  Logan, 
47-48,  51-52;  killed,  52 

Findlay,  John,   explorer,  115 

Finley,  John,  explorer,  115,  118; 
captured  and  killed  by  Ind- 
ians, 1 20 

Flemming,  Col.  William,  leads 
expedition  from  Botetourt, 
47,  51;  shot,  52 

Forbes,  Gen.  John,  44 

Forbes'  Road,  march  of  Bou- 
quet's army  through,  9-10 

Fort  Brady,  14 

Fort  Brooke,  Fla.,  U.  S.  troops 
at,  198,  204 

Fort  Chartres,  principal  mili- 
tary post  in  Great  Northwest, 
213 

Fort  Defiance,  the  delay  at,  329- 
333;  dismantled,  333 

Fort  Du  Quesne,  Pa.,  220 

Fort  Harrison,  253,  263 

Fort  King,  Fla.,  U.  S.  troops 
at,  198,  204 

Fort  Lee,  Tenn.,  siege  of,  70 

Fort  Ligonier,  garrison  of,  4; 
relief  of,  9 

Fort  Mclntosh,  32 

Fort  'Massac,  220 

Fort  Meigs,  295,  300 

Fort  Mims,  the  massacre  at, 
167-178;  plan  of  fort,  170 

Fort  Morgan,  204 

Fort  Mpultrie,  Osceola  impris- 
oned in,  197 

Fort  Necessity,  43 

Fort  Pierce,  172 

Fort  Pitt,  defence  of,  4;  relief 
of,  8-9,  1 8,  24 

Fort  Sackville,  Vincennes, 
Ind.,  225,  232;  repaired  by 
Gov.  Hamilton,  228 

Fort  Stanwix,  Indian  treaty  of, 
44,  66 

Fort  Stephenson,  defence  of, 
291-304;  map  of,  294 


Fort  Stoddardt,  Ala.,  167 
Fort  Washington,  Ind.,  224 
Fort  Williams,  190 
Foster,    Rev.    Stephen,    79;   his 

original  account  of  the  Battle 

of  King's  Mountain  and  death 

of  Major  Ferguson,  95-109 
Franklin,  the  State    of,  and  its 

governor,  68-72 
Fraser,    Capt.,    198,   200;   killed, 

20 1 ;  his  body  found  by  Capt. 

Hitchcock,   206 
Frederick,    Lord    Dunmore    at, 

46 
Frenchtown,    Mich.,    274,    276; 

map   of,   278;    Battle   of,   280- 

286 
Fugitives,     horrible     sufferings 

of,  in  Western  Pennsylvania,  6 


(RAINES,  MAJOR-GEN.  E. 
P.,  Capt.  Hitchcock's  re- 
port to,  on  the  Dade  massa- 
cre, 204-207 

Gardiner,  Capt,  198-199;  killed, 
202 

Gatlin,  Assistant  Surgeon,  198; 
killed,  202 

Geiger,  Capt.,  wounded,  259, 
262 

Gibault,  Father,  French  mis- 
sionary, 223 

Gilbert  Town,  81 

Girty,  Simon,  in  command  un- 
der Lord  Dunmore,  47;  takes 
part  in  Indian  attack  on 
Bryan's  Station,  140,  154-155; 
treacherous  conduct  of,  162- 
163 

Goliad,  Texas,  massacre  of 
Fannin's  command  at,  329- 
330 

"  Good  Bess,"  298 

Grant,  Major,  defeat  of,  5 

Greathouse,  Indian  trader,  46 

Green  River,  81;  explored  by 
Boone,  121-122 

Groce's  Ferry,  356 


376 


Index 


H 

"UAIR-BUYER  GENER- 
AL,"  the,  224-229 

Haldimand,  Governor  of  Que- 
bec, 224 

Hambrignt,  Col.,  89 

Hamilton,  British  Governor  of 
Detroit,  127;  incites  Indians 
to  go  on  the  warpath,  216;  the 
"  Hair-buyer  General,"  224- 
229;  marches  down  the  Wa- 
bash  to  meet  Geo.  Rogers 
Clark,  225;  Clark's  peremp- 
tory letter  to.  236;  applies  to 
Clark  for  truce,  235 

Hampden-Sidney  College,  Will- 
iam Henry  Harrison  graduate 
of,  249 

Harrisburg,  Texas,  Santa  Anna 
destroys,  356-357 

Harrison,  Captain  Benjamin, 
leads  a  force  against  Logan, 
47 

Harrison,  William  Henry,  Isaac 
Shelby  assists,  in  defeating 
Tecumseh,  47;  his  part  in 
breaking  up  the  league  of  the 
Trans-Allegheny  tribes,  248; 
his  ancestry,  249;  his  military 
experience  under  Anthony 
Wayne,  249;  his  daring  and 
gallantry,  250;  his  marriage, 
250;  delegate  to  Congress 
from  Northwest  Territory, 
250;  Governor  of  Indiana  Ter- 
ritory, 250;  attends  Indian 
council  at  Vincennes,  250-251; 
his  disposition  of  his  men  at 
the  Battle  of  Tippecanoe,  255- 
256;  his  experience  in  Indian 
warfare,  257;  his  bravery  in 
action,  260;  fights  the  Battle 
of  the  Thames,  264-268;  given 
supreme  command  of  forces 
to  recapture  Canada.  272;  ap- 
peals to  women  of  Kentucky, 
273 

Hart,  Capt,  brother-in-law  of 
Henry  Clay,  killed  by  Indians, 
287-288 


Helm,  Capt.  Leonard,  appointed 
commandant  at  Vincennes, 
223;  bluffs  Gov.  Hamilton, 
225;  his  toddy  spoiled,  235 

Henderson,  Lieut.,  198;  heroic 
conduct  of,  202 

Henderson,  Col.  Richard,  nego- 
tiates with  Cherokees  for  pur- 
chase of  Transylvania  terri- 
tory, 119;  sends  Boone  to  ex- 
plore it,  124 

Henry,  Patrick,  consulted  by 
Geo.  Rogers  Clark,  218 

Hester,  negro  woman  in  massa- 
cre at  Fort  Mims,  167 

Hill,  Col.,  81 

Hillsboro  Bay,  Fla.,  198 

Hitchcock,  Capt.  E.  A.,  his  re- 
port to  Major-Gen.  E.  P. 
Gaines  on  the  Dade  massacre, 
204-207 

Holston,  Fincastle  County,  Ky., 

47 

Horse  Shoe  Bend,  Alabama 
River,  Jackson's  fight  with 
Indians  at,  177;  map  of,  and 
plan  of  battle,  182 

Houston,  Sam,  heroism  of,  186- 
190;  his  fight  for  the  freedom 
of  Texas,  347-367;  some  char- 
acteristics of,  347-353;  sketch 
of  his  early  life,  347-350;  his 
peculiarities  in  later  life,  350- 
352;  his  opposition  to  seces- 
sion, 353;  in  the  service  of  the 
Texan  Republic,  353*354;  his 
risky  plan  of  retreat,  354-356; 
his  dress  at  Battle  of  San  Ja- 
cinto,  363;  captures  Santa 
Anna,  366 

Hunter,  Capt,  second  in  com- 
mand of  Fort  Meigs,  300,  303 


ILLINOIS,  County  of,  estab- 
lished, 223 

Illinois,  Province  of,  military  af- 
fairs of,  administered  by  Geo. 
Rogers  Clark,  223 


Index 


377 


Independence,  Texan  war  of, 
3I.4-3I5 

Indian  wars  justifiable,  193; 
some  not  justifiable,  193-194 

Indians  defeated  at  Bushy  Run 
by  the  Scottish  Highlanders, 
16-17;  engagement  of,  with 
Bouquet's  army,  10-16 

Iturbide  assumes  government  of 
Mexico,  314 


*/ 
'    TACK,  CAPTAIN,  170 

J  Jackson,  Andrew,  calls  put 
militia  of  Tennessee  against 
Creek  Indians,  177;  his  vic- 
tory at  Tohopeka,  181-190 

Jefferson,  Thomas,  218 

Jessup,  U.  S.  General,  treachery 
of,  toward  Osceola,  196 

Johnson,  Mrs.  Jemima  Suggett, 
brave  act  of,  157-159 

Johnson,  Richard  Mentor,  Vice- 
President  of  U.  S.,  adventure 
of,  in  infancy,  158;  in  Battle 
of  the  Thames,  265-266 


17-ANAWHA  RIVER,  Gen. 
Lewis  on  the,  46-47 

Kaskaskia,  211-212,  219;  only 
school  at,  in  Northwest  Ter- 
ritory, 212-213 

Kaskaskia  River,  220 

Keais,  Lieut.,  198;  killed,  202 

Kennedy,  Major,  heads  relief 
expedition  to  Fort  Mims,  177 

Kenton,  Simon,  in  command 
under  Lord  Dunmore,  47; 
saves  life  of  Daniel  Boone, 
130 

Kentucky,  the  beauties  of,  113; 
a  home  for  humanity,  114;  ex- 
ploration of,  118-122;  meaning 
of  the  name,  119;  settlement 
of,  122-127;  first  religious  ser- 
vices in,  127;  first  marriage  in, 


130;  her  important  part  in  the 
War  of  1812,  272 

Kentucky  River,  Boone's  settle- 
ment on,  122 

King's  Mountain,  81;  launching 
the  thunderbolt,  83-91;  Battle 
of,  85-88;  plan  of  battle,  86; 
casualties  of  battle,  91 ;  origi- 
nal account  of  battle,  95-109 

King's  Mountain  expedition, 
fighting  in  the,  71-72 


JACEY,  COL.,  81;  muster  of 
his  army  at  Cowpens,  82 

Lamar,  Mirabeau  B.,  promoted 
for  bravery  by  Houston,  360 

La  Mothe,  Capt,  in  George 
Rogers  Clark's  expedition, 
234;  Clark's  plan  to  capture, 
236  • 

La  Salle,  Robert  Cavelier,  Sieur 
de,  the  first  white  man  in 
Kentucky,  114;  in  the  Great 
Northwest,  211 

Last  battle  of  the  Revolution, 
Blue  Licks,  Ky.,  138-146 

Lewis,  Gen.  Andrew,  and  his 
Borderers,  43-59;  sketch  of, 
43;  in  Braddock's  army,  44; 
major  in  Washington's  regi- 
ment, 44;  promoted  as  colonel, 
44:  commands  the  Blue  Ridge 
militia,  46;  in  the  Battle  of 
Point  Pleasant,  48-55;  his  con- 
duct at  Battle  of  Point  Pleas- 
ant criticised  by  Bancroft,  57; 
Washington's  friendship  for, 
58;  resigns  his  command,  58; 
death  of,  58 

Lewis,  Col.  Charles,  leads  an 
expedition  from  Augusta 
against  Logan,  47,  51;  shot, 
52 

Lewisburg,  Blue  Ridge  militia 
rendezvous  at,  46 

Licking  River,  140 

Ligonier,  Fort,  see  Fort  Ligo- 
nier 


378 


Index 


Little  Turtle  Creek,  Indian  at- 
tack at,  18 

Logan,  Col.  Benjamin,  in  com- 
mand of  a  company  at  battle 
of  Blue  Licks,  140,  145 

Logan  (Tah-gah-jute),  Cayugan 
Indian,  declares  war  on  Penn- 
sylvanians,  46;  famous  speech 
of,  56-57;  killed,  57 

Lone  Star  Republic,  the,  312-314 

Long  Hunters,  the,  122 

Louisville,  Ky.,  219 

Lulbegrud  Creek,  122 

Lynch's  Ferry,  358,  359 

Lythe,  Rev.  John,  Episcopal 
clergyman,  holds  first  relig- 
ious services  in  Kentucky, 
127 

M 

GARY,  MAJOR,  leads 
attack  on  Indians  at 
Bryan's  Station,  142-143 

McGillivray,  Indian  chief,  216 

McLanahan,  Major,  282;  killed, 
283 

Madison,  Major,  fierce  defence 
by,  at  Frenchtown,  284;  or- 
dered by  Gen.  Winchester  to 
surrender,  285 

Maiden,  now  Amherstburg,  On- 
tario, British  headquarters  at, 
273,  275,  286,  295 

Mars,  Corporal  Stephen,  gives 
first  alarm  of  Indian  attack  at 
Tippecanoe,  258 

Martin's    Station,    massacre    at, 

57 

Mason,  George,  218 

Massacre  at  Martin's  Station, 
57;  at  Ruddle's  Station,  57;  at 
Fort  Mims,  167-178;  of  Major 
Dade's  command,  198-202;  of 
the  Raisin,  271-289;  at  Goliad, 

338-345 

Matthews,  Gen.  George,  in 
command  under  Lord  Dun- 
more,  48 

Maumee  Rapids,  273 ;  Winches- 
ter ordered  to  march  to,  274 


Medals  awarded  for  heroic  ex- 
ploits, 291-292 

Merrill,  Mrs.  John,  kills  four 
Indians,  151 

Metacomet,  the  Wampanoag 
Indian  chief  (King  Philip), 
243 

Micanopy,  Seminole  chief,  195 ; 
leads  Indians  in  attack  on 
Major  Bade,  200 

Michilimackinac,  244 

Middleton,  Capt,  170,  172 

Miller,  Lieut.-Col.,  garrisons 
Fort  Harrison,  255 

Mims,  Fort,  massacre  at,  167- 
178 

Mims,  Samuel,  his  farm  at- 
tacked by  Creek  Indians,  un- 
der Weatherford,  169-171 

Mobilian  race  of  Indians,  244, 
246 

Monroe,  Mich.,  274 

Montgomery,  Major  L.  P., 
killed  by  Creek  Indians,  186- 
187 

Moore,  Gen.  Andrew,  in  com- 
mand under  Lord  Dunmore, 
48 

Morgan,  Daniel,  in  command 
under  Lord  Dunmore,  47 

Morgans,  the  story  of  the,  163- 
164 

Morris,  Robert,  guardian  of 
William  Henry  Harrison,  249 

Moscoso  in  Kentucky,  114 

Mountaineers,  the  assembling  of 
the,  72-78 

Mountains,  the  land  beyond  the, 

II3-U5 
Mudge,  Lieut.,  198,  200;  killed, 

201 
Musgrove's   Mills,   skirmish  at. 

74,83 

N 

"XJAPOLEON  of  the  West," 

1        313 

Natchez  Indians,  212 
Negroes    butcher    and    mutilate 
troops  in  the  Dade  massacre. 


Index 


379 


203;  quasi-liherty  of,  among 
the  Indians,  194 

Netherland,  Major,  checks  ad- 
vance of  Indians  on  Bryan's 
Station,  144-145 

New  Washington,  357,  359 

Nez  Perces  War  not  justifiable 
by  United  States,  193 

"  Nolichucky  Jack,"  70 

Ninety  Six,  81 

Northwest  Territory,  the,  21 1- 
304 

o 

QCONOSTOTA,  Indian  chief, 
216;  at  siege  of  Fort  Lee, 
70 

"  Old  King's  Mountain,"  47 
Osceola,    Seminole    chief,    195- 
197;  treachery  of  Gen.  Jessup 
toward,       196;       kills       Gen. 
Thompson,  200 
Ouabache,  see  Wabash 
Ouithlacoochee  River,  198 
Owen,    Major    Abraham,    joins 
Harrison's  expedition  against 
Tecumseh,   252;  mistaken  for 
Harrison     by     Indians     and 
killed,  259 


pARKER,  SIR  PETER,  at- 
tempt of,  to  capture  Charles- 
ton, 70 

Pennsylvania,  how  Henry  Bou- 
quet saved,  3-20;  western,  ac- 
tivity of  Indians  in,  5 

Pennsylvania  and  Virginia, 
strife  between  for  possession 
of  land,  45 

Philip,  King,  Algonquin  Indian 
chief,  243 

Piankeshaw  Indians  volunteer 
services  to  Geo.  Rogers  Clark, 

234-235 

Pioneer,  the  American,  ix-x 
Pioneers  of  East  Tennessee,  63- 

93 


Pioneers,  the  wives  of  the,  151- 
153 

Pitt,  Fort,  see  Fort  Pitt 

Point  Pleasant,  Battle  of,  48-55 

Point  Pleasant,  on  the  Kana- 
wha,  214 

Pontiac,  Ottawa  Indian  Chief,  5, 
246 

Portilla,  Mexican  Colonel,  de- 
stroys remnant  of  Fannin's 
command,  341-343 

Potomac  Gap,  46 

Precedence,  disastrous  result  of 
question  of,  277-279 

Proctor,  English  commander  in 
War  of  1812,  264;  at  Battle  of 
the  Thames,  267;  outpost  of, 
at  Frenchtown,  275;  attacks 
Winchester's  command,  279; 
infamous  treachery  of,  284- 
286;  withdraws  to  Maiden, 
286;  attacks  Fort  Meigs,  295; 
frustrated  in  his  attack  on 
Fort  Stephenson  by  Captain 
Croghan,  296-304 


DAISIN  RIVER,  massacre 
on  the,  271-288;  Winches- 
ter's camp  on  the,  277;  map  of 
massacre,  278 

Red  Hawk,  Indian  chief,  killed, 
59 

Red  River,  camp  of  Daniel 
Boone  on,  121 

Red  Sticks,  Creek  warriors,  173 

Red  Warrior,  Creek  Indian,  169 

Reed,  Joseph,  Pres.  of  Supreme 
Executive  Council  of  Penn- 
sylvania, 33 

Refugio,  Texas,  Gen.  King's 
command  overwhelmed  at, 
332,  333 

Revolution,  on  the  eve  of  the, 
43-59;  last  battle  of  the,  138- 
146 

"  Revolution,  the  Rear  Guard  of 
the,"  67-68 

Reynolds,  British  Major,  277 


38o 


Index 


Robb's  Kentucky  Riflemen,  262 

Robertson,  James,  of  Tennessee, 
in  expedition  against  Logan, 
47;  settles  in  East  Tennessee, 
67-68 

Rocheblave,  M.  de,  commander 
on  the  Kaskaskia  River,  220; 
his  wife  conceals  valuable 
papers,  222 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  on  con- 
quering a  continent,  ix 

Round  Head,  Indian  chief,  279, 
283 

"  Royal  Americans,"  8 

Ruddle's   Station,    massacre   at, 

57 
"  Runaway    Scrape,    the,'     354- 

356 
Ruse  against  ruse,  155 


QT.  AUGUSTINE,   FLA.,  U. 

S.    troops    at,    198;    officers 

and  soldiers  of  Bade  massacre 

interred  at,  207 

Salt  River,  explored  by  Boone, 

121 

San  Antonio  de  Bexar,  Texas, 
captured,    314;    Santa    Anna's 
army  at,  320 
San  Antonio  de  Valero,  mission 

of,  314 

San  Felipe  de  Austin,  355 
San  Jacinto,  Battle  of,  363-368 
San  Jacinto  corn,  358-359 
Sandusky  Indians  ambushed  by 

Capt.  Samuel  Brady,  33 
Sandusky,    Lower,    defence    of, 

293 ;  see  Fort  Stephenson 
"  Sandy  Creek  Voyage,"  44 
Santa  Anna,  Antonio  Lopez,  be- 
comes Dictator  of  Mexico, 
313;  sketch  of,  313;  demands 
surrender  of  the  Alamo,  316; 
storms  the  fort  and  butchers 
its  defenders,  324-326;  the 
worst  of  his  misdeeds,  329- 
344;  concentrates  his  army  at 
the  Colorado,  356;  trapped  by 


Houston,  357-362;  captured  at 
San  Jacinto,  368 

Scalping  of  Indians,  official,  33 

Scioto  River,  47;  Boone  attacks 
Indians  on  the,  134 

Scottish  Highlanders  in  battle 
of  Bushy  Run,  16-17 

Seminoles,  their  fight  for  free- 
dom, 193-208;  meaning  of 
their  name,  193 

Seneca  Falls,  Gen.  Harrison's 
post  at,  395 

Sevier,  John,  and  the  Watauga 
men,  63-68;  organizer  of  the 
first  democratic  government, 
63;  origin  of  his  family,  64; 
organizes  the  State  of  Frank- 
lin, 68;  betrayed  and  tried  for 
high  treason,  69;  set  free  and 
elected  to  the  legislature,  69; 
chosen  governor,  69;  death  of, 
69;  romantic  episode  of  his 
life,  70-71 ;  his  gallant  conduct 
in  Battle  of  King's  Mountain, 
86-93 

Sevier,  Valentine,  leads  a  force 
against  Logan,  47 

Shawnees,  Capt.  Samuel  Brady 
and  Lewis  Wetzel  in  camp  of, 
36-38;  Col.  Lewis's  expedition 
against,  44 

Shelby.  Capt.  Evan,  in  com- 
mand under  Gen.  Lewis,  47, 
52;  companion  of  Sevier,  65-66 

Shelby,  Col.  Isaac,  in  Battle  of 
Point  Pleasant,  47,  54;  com- 
panion of  Sevier,  65-66,  75-78; 
in  Battle  of  the  Thames,  265 ; 
commands  the  left  centre  at 
Battle  of  King's  Mountain, 
86-93 

Sherrill,  Katharine,  second  wife 
of  John  Sevier,  70-71 

Shipp,  Ensign  Edmund,  inter- 
esting interview  of,  with  Brit- 
ish officers,  299 

Shippensburg,  Pa.,  fugitives  at, 
6 

Short,  British  Lieut. -Col.,  at 
attack  on  Fort  Meigs,  302; 
killed,  302 


Index 


38' 


Slavery,  position  of  Mexico  to, 
313;  question  of,  in  Texas,  313 

"  Sons  of  Fire,"  Cherokees,  71 

Spencer,  Capt.  Spier,  commands 
mounted  company  in  Harri- 
son's army,  253;  killed  at 
Tippecanoe,  261 

Stars  and  Stripes,  domination 
of,  yiii;  first  floated  over  Mis- 
sissippi River,  222;  hoisted  in 
Vincennes,  Ind.,  236-238 

Stewart,  explorer  and  compan- 
ion of  Daniel  Boone,  119-121 

Stone  Eater,  Indian  chief  at 
Tippecanoe,  263 

Stuart,  Major,  incites  Creeks 
and  Cherokees  against  Amer- 
icans, 216 

Stupes,  Jenny,  rescued  by  Capt. 
Samuel  Brady,  38 

Sumter,  Col.,  81 

Sycamore  Shoals,  76 

Symmes,  Judge,  father-in-law  of 
William  Henry  Harrison,  250 


npAH-GAH-JUTE,  Cayugan 
Indian,  45 ;  see  Logan 

Talladega,  Creek  Indians  de- 
feated at,  by  Gen.  Jackson,  181 

Tallapoosa  River,  Ala.,  last 
stand  of  Creek  Indians  at, 
182-186 

Talluschatches,  Creek  Indians 
defeated  at,  by  Gen.  Coffee, 
181 

Tampa  Bay,  205,  206 

Tecumseh,  Indian  Chief,  47;  his 
qualities  as  a  statesman,  244; 
his  views  on  possession  of 
land,  244;  James  Parton's 
view  of  his  character,  245; 
Gen.  Harrison's  testimony  as 
to  his  character  and  abilities, 
246;  his  patience  and  restraint, 
248;  his  part  in  the  Battle  of 
Fallen  Timbers,  249;  heart- 
broken at  result  of  Battle  of 
Tippecanoe,  6;  Proctor,  Eng- 


lish commander,  inferior  to, 
264;  in  Battle  of  the  Thames, 
265;  killed,  266-267;  perpetu- 
ation of  name,  268 

Tecumseh  and  William  Henry 
Harrison,  243-268;  the  great- 
est of  the  Indians,  243-248 

Tennessee,  Pioneers  of  East,  63 

Tensaw  Lake,  167,  169 

Terre  Haute,  Ind.,  site  of,  253 

Texas  and  her  heroic  sons,  307- 
367 

Texas,  Republic  of,  312-314 

Thames,  Battle  of  the,  264-268; 
important  results  of,  248 

Thames  River,  Province  of  On- 
tario, 264 

Thayendenegea  (Joseph  Brandt) 
Indian  chief,  243 

Thompson,  Gen.,  killed  by  Os- 
ceola,  200 

Tippecanoe,  result  of  battle  of, 
248;  meaning  of  the  word, 
253;  Harrison's  disposition  of 
troops  on  ground  at,  255-256; 
plan  of  battle  of,  256;  account 
of  the  battle,  257-263 

Tipton,  Ensign,  made  captain  of 
his  company,  262 

Todd,  Col.  John,  defends 
Bryan's  Station,  140;  first 
governor  of  Illinois,  123 

Tohopeka,  Battle  of,  177;  Jack- 
son's victory  at,  181-190 

Tories  in  Ferguson's  army,  75 

Trans-Allegheny  tribes,  league 
of,  245;  the  protagonist  of  the 
league,  248-252 

Transylvania  Company  estab- 
lished at  Boonesborough,  127; 
claims  right  of  eminent  do- 
main over  Kentucky,  215 

Travis,  Lieut.-Col.  William  Bar- 
rett, commander  of  the  Alamo, 
315;  his  appeal  for  assistance, 
3.I7-3I8 

Trigg,  Col.  Stephen,  defends 
Bryan's  Station,  140 

"  Twin  Sisters,"  Houston's  can- 
non, 256,  259,  364 


382 


Index 


u 

TTNITED  STATES,  injustice 
of  the,  to  Indians,  193-197; 
boundaries  as  arranged  by 
France  and  Spain,  228-229 

Urrea,  Mexican  General,  over- 
whelms Fannin's  command, 
330-342 


yiGO,  FRANCIS,  sketch  of, 
227,  228;  his  claim  allowed 

by  government,  240 
Villiers,  Conlon  de,  43 
Vince's  Creek,  Texas,  359,  364 
Vincennes,  Sieur  de,  establishes 

a  military  post  on  the  Wabash, 

211 ;  killed  by  Natchez  Indians, 

282 
Vincennes,   Ind.,  founded,   211; 

held   by   Geo.    Rogers    Clark, 

219,    223;    captured  by   Clark, 

234-238 
Virginia  and  Pennsylvania,  strife 

between     for     possession     of 

land,  45 

w 

"WABASH,    military   post   at, 
established  by  Vincennes, 

211 

Walker,  Gunner,  the  last  man 
killed  in  the  Alamo,  325 

Walker,  Dr.  Thomas,  Virginian 
explorer,  115 

Warburton,  British  colonel,  at 
attack  on  Fort  Meigs,  303 

Ward,  Lieut.-Col.,  takes  assist- 
ance to  the  Refugio  garrison, 
332;  escapes,  332;  shot  by 
Mexicans,  343 

Warrick,  Capt,  killed  at  Tippe- 
canoe, 261 

Washington,  George,  narrow 
escape  of,  73 

Watauga  men  and  John  Sevier, 
63-68 

Watauga,  Tenn.,  visited  by  De 
Soto,  66;  settled  by  Dougher- 
ty, an  Irish  trader,  66 

Watauga,  Fincastle  County,  47 


Waxhaws,  massacre  at,  87 

Wayne,  Anthony,  instructor  of 
William  Henry  Harrison,  249 

Weatherford,  Indian  war  chief. 
169 

Wells,  Col.  of  iTth  U.  S.  Infan- 
try, 273,  277,  280,  282;  killed, 
283 

Wetzel,  Lewis,  adventure  with 
Capt.  Samuel  Brady  in  camp 
of  Shawnees,  36-38 

White  Loon,  Indian  chief  at 
Tippecanoe,  263 

White,  Stuart  Edward,  on  the 
American  pioneer,  ix 

Wilderness  Road,  124 

Williams,  Col.,  81;  killed  at 
King's  Mountain,  91 

Willing,  Anne,  refuses  to  wed 
General  Bouquet,  19 

Willing,  the,  a  bateaux  com- 
manded by  Capt.  Rogers,  229, 
235 

Winchester,  Col.,  ordered  to 
march  to  Maumee  Rapids, 
274;  camps  on  the  Raisin 
River,  277 ;  his  command  at- 
tacked by  Gen.  Proctor,  279 

Winnemac,  Indian  chief  at  Tip- 
pecanoe, 263 

Winston,  Major,  86,  89 

Withlacoochee  River,  198,  199, 
204 

Wood,  Col.,  Virginian  explorer,  „ 

US 
Wyandotte  Indians  assist  Gen. 

Proctor  at   Frenchtown,  279; 

attack    Bryan's    Station,    140- 

144 
Wythe,  George,  218 


VADKIN  RIVER,  Boone's 
settlement  on,  121-122 

"  Yellow  Jackets,"  Capt.  Spen- 
cer's company  of  mounted 
rifles,  253;  at  Tippecanoe,  261 


VANE,    ELIZABETH,   brav- 
ery  of,  152 


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